Shloka 18
Go-dāna-stuti and Ghṛta-Japa
Praise of cow-gift and ghee-centered recitation
गोद: शीली निर्भयश्चार्थदाता न स्याद् दुःखी वसुदाता च कामम् | उषस्योढा भारते यश्न विद्वान् विख्यातास्ते वैष्णवाश्रषन्द्रलोका:
Bhīṣma uvāca—
Godaḥ śīlī nirbhayaś cārthadātā na syād duḥkhī vasudātā ca kāmam | uṣasy uṭhā Bhārate yaś ca vidvān vikhyātās te vaiṣṇavāś candralokāḥ ||
Bhishma said: The giver of a cow is virtuous, and the one who pays its proper value is fearless. A person who, in place of a cow, gives gold according to his means does not fall into sorrow. Those who rise at dawn and perform their daily religious observances, who are learned in the Mahabharata, and who are renowned devotees of Vishnu—such people attain the Moon-world.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity aligned with dharma—especially cow-gift or its fair equivalent—brings merit and freedom from sorrow; disciplined daily conduct and Vaiṣṇava devotion elevate one’s spiritual destiny (here, Candraloka).
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he praises the merit of go-dāna and acceptable substitution by gold, then links moral discipline (rising at dawn, daily rites), scriptural learning (knowledge of the Bhārata), and devotion to Viṣṇu with attainment of a heavenly realm.