Shloka 4

गवां लोकवर्णनं तथा गोप्रदानफलश्रुतिः

Description of the ‘World of Cows’ and the Stated Fruits of Cow-Gift

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच तुल्यनामानि देयानि त्रीणि तुल्यफलानि च । सर्वकामफलानीह गाव: पृथ्वी सरस्वती

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca

tulyanāmāni deyāni trīṇi tulyaphalāni ca |

sarvakāmaphalānīha gāvaḥ pṛthvī sarasvatī ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “O Yudhishthira, three gifts should be given, for they bear equivalent names and yield equivalent results: the cow, the earth (land), and Sarasvatī—sacred learning and speech. These three are said to grant the fruits of all desires to human beings.”

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'tulya': 'equal, equivalent', 'nāmāni': 'names (also: designations/epithets)', 'deyāni': 'to be given

• worthy of being donated', 'trīṇi': 'three', 'tulyaphalāni': 'having equal fruits/results', 'ca': 'and', 'sarva': 'all', 'kāma': 'desire

• wished-for aim', 'phala': 'fruit

• reward', 'iha': 'here (in this world/teaching context)', 'gāvaḥ': 'cows', 'pṛthvī': 'earth

• soil (as a gift: land-grant)', 'sarasvatī': 'Sarasvatī

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Yudhishthira
• cows
• earth/land (pṛthvī)
• Sarasvatī (learning/speech)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that donating cows, donating land, and supporting Sarasvatī (learning/sacred speech—e.g., education, Vedic study, teachers) are three supremely meritorious gifts. They are regarded as equivalent in name and in spiritual reward, and are praised as fulfilling a donor’s rightful aims.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma addresses Yudhishthira and enumerates exemplary forms of dāna (charitable giving). Here he highlights three principal gifts—cow, land, and Sarasvatī—stating their equal efficacy and broad beneficence.