Shloka 94
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
ततो मे सुकृतं कर्म कृतमात्मविशुद्धये । गावौ च कपिले क्रीत्वा वत्सले बहुदोहने
tato me sukṛtaṃ karma kṛtam ātmaviśuddhaye | gāvau ca kapile krītvā vatsale bahudohane |
Then, seeking the purification of my own self, I performed a meritorious act. I purchased two tawny (kapilā) cows, each with her calf and yielding abundant milk, and gave them—according to proper rite and with faith—to a Brahmin living by the ucchavṛtti way of life. O lord, I now wish to restore again the very fruit of that gift of cows.
विरूप उवाच
Educational Q&A
Merit is cultivated through dharmic giving performed with proper procedure and faith, especially gifts that sustain life (like cows). Such acts are framed as means of inner purification, and their ‘fruit’ (phala) is treated as a moral-spiritual consequence that one may seek to direct or restore through further righteous intention.
Virūpa recounts a past act done for self-purification: he bought two high-yielding kapilā cows with calves and donated them, ritually and with faith, to a poor Brahmin who lived by gleaning. He then states his wish to return or restore the fruit of that cow-gift, indicating a concern with the ethical accounting of merit and its consequences.