Shloka 50
देवव्रती स्याद् वृषभप्रदानै- वेंदावाप्तिगोयुगस्य प्रदाने । तीर्थावाप्तिगों प्रयुक्तप्रदाने पापोत्सर्ग: कपिलाया: प्रदाने,“एक बैलका दान करनेसे मनुष्य देवताओंका सेवक होता है। दो बैलोंका दान करनेपर उसे वेद-विद्याकी प्राप्ति होती है। उन बैलोंसे जुते हुए छकड़ेका दान करनेसे तीर्थसेवनका फल प्राप्त होता है और कपिला गायके दानसे समस्त पापोंका परित्याग हो जाता है
nāciketa uvāca | devavratī syād vṛṣabhapradānaiḥ vedāvāptir goyugasya pradāne | tīrthāvāptir gāṃ prayuktapradāne pāpotsargaḥ kapilāyāḥ pradāne ||
Naciketa said: “By gifting a bull, a person becomes devoted to the service of the gods. By gifting a pair of bulls, one gains access to Vedic knowledge. By gifting a cart yoked with those bulls, one attains the merit of visiting sacred pilgrimage-sites. And by gifting a tawny (kapilā) cow, one casts off sins.”
नाचिकेत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a graded ethic of dāna: giving useful, life-supporting resources (cattle and what they enable) is a dharmic act that yields corresponding spiritual fruits—devotional orientation, access to sacred learning, pilgrimage-merit, and purification from sin.
Naciketa is enumerating the specific merits (phala) associated with different bovine-related gifts—one bull, a pair of bulls, a yoked conveyance, and a kapilā cow—presenting them as authoritative guidance on charitable conduct within Anuśāsana Parva’s broader instruction on dharma.