Shloka 34

गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्

Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows

Devanagari script

पज्चवार्षिकमेवं तु क्षत्रियस्य फल स्मृतम्‌ । ततोडर्धेन तु वैश्यस्य शूद्रो वैश्यार्धत: स्मृत:,यह ब्राह्मणके लिये फल बताया गया। अब क्षत्रियको मिलनेवाले फलका वर्णन सुनो। यदि क्षत्रिय इसी प्रकार पाँच वर्षोतक गौकी आराधना करे तो उसे वही फल प्राप्त होता है। उससे आधे समयमें वैश्यको और उससे भी आधे समयमें शूद्रकों उसी फलकी प्राप्ति बतायी गयी है

Transliteration

pañcavārṣikam evaṁ tu kṣatriyasya phalaṁ smṛtam | tato ’rdhena tu vaiśyasya śūdro vaiśyārdhataḥ smṛtaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “Thus the fruit (of this observance) is declared for a Kshatriya as lasting five years. A Vaishya attains the same result in half that time, and a Shudra is said to attain it in half of the Vaishya’s time.”

Word by Word

पञ्चवार्षिकम्five-year (observance)

एवम्thus

तुbut/indeed

क्षत्रियस्यof the Kshatriya

फलम्fruit/result

स्मृतम्is said/remembered (as)

ततःthereafter/than that

अर्धेनby half (the time)

तुand/but

वैश्यस्यof the Vaishya

शूद्रःthe Shudra

वैश्यार्धतःfrom half of the Vaishya (time), i.e., in a quarter (of the original)

स्मृतःis said/remembered (to obtain it)

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha)

Kṣatriya

Vaiśya

Śūdra

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the same spiritual ‘fruit’ of an observance can be attained by different varṇas with differing durations, reflecting a traditional gradation of discipline while affirming that sincere practice leads to equivalent merit.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha), in his instruction on dharma, specifies how long members of different social orders must undertake a particular practice to obtain the same result: five years for a Kṣatriya, half that for a Vaiśya, and half again for a Śūdra.