Shloka 47
कपिल–स्यूमरश्मि संवादः
Kapila and Syūmaraśmi on Renunciation, Householder Support, and Epistemic Authority
अधघ्न्या इति गवां नाम क एता हन्तुम्ति । महच्चकाराकुशल वृष॑ं गां वाउडलभेत् तु यः
adhaghnye iti gavāṁ nāma; ka etā hantuṁ hi? mahac ca karoty akuśalaṁ yo vṛṣaṁ gāṁ vā uḍḍalabheta tu yaḥ.
“The Vedas call cows ‘adhaghnī’—not to be slain. Who, knowing this, would even think of killing them? The man who strikes down a cow or a bull commits a grave wrong and incurs great sin.”
तुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
Śruti designates the cow as ‘adhaghnī’ (not to be slain); therefore harming or killing cows and bulls is presented as a serious adharma that generates great pāpa. The verse grounds ethical restraint in scriptural authority and compassion.
In the Śānti Parva’s dialogue, Tulādhāra instructs on righteous conduct. Here he argues that since the Vedic tradition treats cows as inviolable, a dharmic person should not contemplate their killing, and he condemns such violence as a grave moral fault.