Shloka 36
गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्
Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows
रोग्णि रोग्णि महाभाग लोकाश्षास्या5क्षया:स्मृता: । संग्रामेष्वर्जयित्वा तु यो वै गा: सम्प्रयच्छति । आत्मविक्रयतुल्यास्ता: शाश्वता विद्धि कौशिक,महाभाग इन्द्र! गौओंके रोम-रोममें अक्षय लोकोंकी स्थिति मानी गयी है। जो संग्राममें गौओंको जीतकर उनका दान कर देता है, उनके लिये वे गौएँ स्वयं अपनेको बेचकर लेकर दी हुई गौओंके समान अक्षय फल देनेवाली होती हैं--इस बातको तुम जान लो
Pitāmaha uvāca: rogṇi rogṇi mahābhāga lokāḥ śāśvatā akṣayāḥ smṛtāḥ | saṅgrāmeṣv arjayitvā tu yo vai gāḥ samprayacchati | ātmavikrayatulyās tāḥ śāśvatā viddhi Kauśika ||
Bhishma said: “O greatly fortunate one, it is remembered that in every hair of a cow abide eternal, imperishable worlds. Therefore, whoever, having won cows in battle, then gives them away in gift—those cows become for him like cows obtained by one’s own self-sale, and they yield everlasting, unfailing merit. Know this, O Kaushika.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse extols go-dāna as a supremely meritorious act: cows are symbolically said to contain imperishable ‘worlds’ in every hair, so gifting cows—especially those acquired through the hardships of battle—yields inexhaustible, lasting spiritual reward.
Bhīṣma (the Grandsire) is instructing his listener (addressed as Kauśika) within Anuśāsana Parva’s teachings on gifts and dharma, emphasizing that donating cows won in warfare produces enduring merit comparable to the extreme personal sacrifice implied by ‘self-sale.’