Shloka 29
Adhyāya 60: Dāna vs. Yajña—Royal Giving, Protection, and Karmic Share
यावन्ति रोमाणि भवन्ति धेन्वा- स्तावत् काल प्राप्प स गोप्रदानात् पुत्रांश्व पौत्रांश्ष कुलं च सर्व- मासप्तमं तारयते परत्र,“उस गौके शरीरमें जितने रोएँ हैं, उतने वर्षोतक मनुष्य गोदानके पुण्यसे स्वर्गीय सुख भोगता है। इतना ही नहीं, वह गौ उसके पुत्र-पौत्र आदि सात पीढ़ियोंतक समस्त कुलका परलोकमें उद्धार कर देती है
vaiśampāyana uvāca | yāvanti romāṇi bhavanti dhenvāḥ tāvat kālaṁ prāpya sa gopradānāt | putrān ca pautrāṁś ca kulaṁ ca sarvam ā-saptamaṁ tārayate paratra ||
Vaiśampāyana said: As many hairs as there are on a cow, for that many years a man—having obtained the fruit of gifting a cow—enjoys heavenly happiness. Not only that: the very act of giving the cow becomes a means of deliverance for his sons, grandsons, and the entire lineage, carrying them across in the other world up to the seventh generation.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse extols go-dāna (gifting a cow) as a highly meritorious act: its spiritual reward is vast (symbolized by the cow’s hairs as a measure of years in heaven) and it is portrayed as benefiting not only the donor but also the donor’s descendants up to seven generations, emphasizing dharma through generosity and responsibility toward one’s lineage.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused discourse on gifts and dharma, Vaiśampāyana reports a teaching that quantifies and magnifies the फल (result) of cow-gifting: the donor enjoys heavenly pleasure for an immense duration, and the act is said to ‘carry across’ the donor’s family line in the hereafter up to the seventh generation.