Shloka 17
यज्ञांगं कथिता गावो यज्ञ एव च वासव । एताभिश्न विना यज्ञो न वर्तेत कथंचन,“वासव! गौओंको यज्ञका अंग और साक्षात् यज्ञरूप बतलाया गया है; क्योंकि इनके दूध, दही और घीके बिना यज्ञ किसी तरह सम्पन्न नहीं हो सकता
yajñāṅgaṃ kathitā gāvo yajña eva ca vāsava | etābhiḥ na vinā yajño na varteta kathaṃcana ||
“O Vāsava (Indra), cows are declared to be an essential limb of sacrifice—indeed, sacrifice itself—because without them no yajña can proceed in any way.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cows are presented as indispensable to yajña and thus to the maintenance of dharma, since key ritual offerings depend on cow-derived substances; protecting and honoring them is framed as ethically and religiously significant.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction within the Anuśāsana Parva, he addresses Vāsava (Indra) and emphasizes the ritual centrality of cows, arguing that sacrifice cannot be properly performed without them.