Shloka 42
Nṛga-upākhyāna: Brāhmaṇa-sva and the Consequence of Misappropriated Gift-Cattle (कृकलास-रूपे नृगोपाख्यानम्)
एंक गोब्राह्मणं तस्मात् प्रवदन्ति मनीषिण: । रन्तिदेवस्य यज्ञे ता: पशुत्वेनोपकल्पिता:
ekaṁ gobrāhmaṇaṁ tasmāt pravadanti manīṣiṇaḥ | rantidevasya yajñe tāḥ paśutvenopakalpitāḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Therefore the wise declare the cow and the Brahmin to be one in essence. In King Rantideva’s sacrifice, those cows were set apart as ‘victims’ only in the ritual sense—destined to be given away as gifts. Hence the river called Carmanvatī was said to have flowed from the abundance of hides. Yet those cows were not bound by the status of slaughtered beasts; they were appointed for donation.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates the cow and the Brahmin as a single sacred category in dharma: both are to be protected and honored. It frames true righteousness as generosity and reverence for life, emphasizing that ritual designations should not be read as license for cruelty.
Bhishma cites King Rantideva’s famed sacrifice, where many cows were set aside under the ritual label of ‘paśu’ but were intended for gifting. The tradition remembers the immense scale of the rite (and its aftermath imagery, such as the river associated with hides) to underscore extraordinary charity and the sanctity attached to cows.