Shloka 96
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
गोकोटिं स्पर्शयामास हिरण्यं तु तथैव च । रत्नाज्जलिमथीैकं च ब्राह्मणेभ्यो ददौ तदा
bhīṣma uvāca | gokoṭiṁ sparśayāmāsa hiraṇyaṁ tu tathaiva ca | ratnāñjalim athaikaṁ ca brāhmaṇebhyo dadau tadā ||
Bhishma said: Then he caused a crore of cows to be formally gifted by the ritual act of touching them, and likewise bestowed gold; and at that time he also gave each of the Brahmins a single handful-offering of jewels.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wealth gains ethical value when it is used in dharmic ways—through respectful, properly performed giving (dāna) to worthy recipients, especially those devoted to learning and spiritual discipline.
A king (as explained in the surrounding prose tradition, often identified with Janaka) honours the learned by distributing vast gifts: a crore of cows through the formal ‘touch’ that completes the donation, along with gold and a measured handful-offering of jewels to Brahmins.