Shloka 49
गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्
Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows
गोभिश्व समनुज्ञात: सर्वत्र च महीयते । यस्त्वेतेनैव कल्पेन गां वनेष्वनुगच्छति,इतना ही नहीं, वह गौओंसे अनुगृहीत होकर सर्वत्र पूजित होता है। शतक्रतो! जो मनुष्य उपर्युक्त विधिसे वनमें रहकर गौओंका अनुसरण करता है तथा निःस्पृह, संयमी और पवित्र होकर घास-पत्ते एवं गोबर खाता हुआ जीवन व्यतीत करता है, वह मनमें कोई कामना न होनेपर मेरे लोकमें देवताओंके साथ आनन्दपूर्वक निवास करता है। अथवा उसकी जहाँ इच्छा होती है, उन्हीं लोकोंमें चला जाता है
gobhiś ca samanujñātaḥ sarvatra ca mahīyate | yas tv etenaiva kalpena gāṃ vaneṣv anugacchati |
Bhīṣma said: “Blessed and approved by the cows, such a man is honored everywhere. But he who follows this very discipline—dwelling in the forest and keeping to the cows, free from craving, self-restrained, and pure, sustaining himself on grass, leaves, and even cow-dung—when no desire remains in his mind, dwells joyfully in my world together with the gods; or else he goes to whatever worlds he wishes.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that disciplined, desireless, and pure conduct centered on reverence and service to cows—paired with self-restraint and austerity—leads to honor in this world and auspicious posthumous destinations, culminating in residence in higher realms when desire is extinguished.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction, Bhīṣma addresses Śatakratu (Indra) and describes the spiritual fruit of a specific observance: living in the forest, following and serving cows, and maintaining strict austerity, which results in divine honor and access to exalted worlds.