Shloka 13
Suvarṇa-janma and Dakṣiṇā-Māhātmya
Origin and Supremacy of Gold as Ritual Fee
नात: पुण्यतरं दानं॑ नात: पुण्यतरं फलम् | नातो विशिष्ट लोकेषु भूतं॑ भवितुमरहति,गोदानसे बढ़कर कोई पवित्र दान नहीं है। गोदानके फलसे श्रेष्ठ दूसरा कोई फल नहीं है तथा संसारमें गौसे बढ़कर दूसरा कोई उत्कृष्ट प्राणी नहीं है
nātaḥ puṇyataraṁ dānaṁ nātaḥ puṇyataraṁ phalam | nāto viśiṣṭaṁ lokeṣu bhūtaṁ bhavitum arhati |
Vasiṣṭha said: “There is no gift more meritorious than the gifting of a cow; there is no fruit more meritorious than the fruit that arises from such a gift. In all the worlds, no being is fit to be regarded as more excellent than the cow.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates go-dāna (the gifting of a cow) as the highest form of charity, asserting that its spiritual merit and resulting reward surpass other gifts, and that the cow is uniquely excellent among beings across the worlds.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused setting, the sage Vasiṣṭha delivers a dharma-teaching that ranks forms of dāna, praising go-dāna as supremely meritorious and ethically exemplary.