Shloka 43
Nṛga-upākhyāna: Brāhmaṇa-sva and the Consequence of Misappropriated Gift-Cattle (कृकलास-रूपे नृगोपाख्यानम्)
अतश्चर्मण्वती राजन् गोचर्मभ्य: प्रवर्तिता । पशुत्वाच्च विनिर्मुक्ता: प्रदानायोपकल्पिता:
Bhīṣma uvāca: ataś carmaṇvatī rājan gocarmabhyaḥ pravartitā | paśutvāc ca vinirmuktāḥ pradānāyopakalpitāḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Therefore, O king, the river called Carmaṇvatī came to flow from the hides of cows. Those cows, having been released from the status of mere sacrificial beasts, had been set apart specifically for the purpose of gifting.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma underscores the dharmic gravity of dāna: what is designated for gifting—especially cows in royal rites—should be treated as sacred and ethically protected, not reduced to mere consumable property.
Bhishma explains an etiological tradition: the river Carmaṇvatī is said to have arisen from cow-hides connected with King Rantideva’s great sacrificial-gifting context, emphasizing that the cows involved were specifically set apart for donation and thus 'freed' from ordinary sacrificial-animal status.