Shloka 22
गोशकृन्माहात्म्य-प्रश्नः (On the Merit of Cow-Dung and the Abode of Śrī) / Inquiry into the Sanctity of Cow-Dung
गोमत्या विद्यया धेनुं तिलानामभिमन्त्रय यः । सर्वरत्नमयीं दद्यान्न स शोचेत् कृताकृते
bhīṣma uvāca |
gomatyā vidyayā dhenuṃ tilānām abhimantrya yaḥ |
sarvaratnamayīṃ dadyān na sa śocet kṛtākṛte ||
Bhishma said: “Whoever consecrates a cow made of sesame (a ritual ‘sesame-cow’ gift) by means of the Gomati sacred formula and then donates that cow—described as endowed with all kinds of jewels—to a Brahmin, such a person does not grieve over what has been done or left undone, for the merit of the gift removes remorse regarding one’s auspicious and inauspicious deeds.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that properly consecrated charitable giving—here, the ritual gift of a sesame-cow empowered by the Gomati mantra—can relieve a person from remorse and anxiety about past good and bad actions, emphasizing dana as a dharmic means of purification and inner peace.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he describes a specific meritorious rite: consecrating a tiladhenu with the Gomati formula and donating it (as a jewel-endowed gift) to a Brahmin, stating the spiritual result as freedom from grief regarding one’s deeds and omissions.