Shloka 70
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
अन्तरिक्षगतो वत्सो यावद् योन्यां प्रदृश्यते । तावत् गौ पृथिवी ज्ञेया यावद् गर्भ न मुडचति,जबतक बछड़ा योनिसे निकलते समय आकाशमें ही लटकता दिखायी दे, जबतक गाय अपने बछड़ेको पूर्णतःयोनिसे अलग न कर दे, तबतक उस गौको पृथ्वीरूप ही समझना चाहिये
antarikṣagato vatsaḥ yāvad yonyāṁ pradṛśyate | tāvat gauḥ pṛthivī jñeyā yāvad garbhaṁ na muñcati ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “So long as the calf, in the very act of being born, is seen hanging in mid-air while still emerging from the womb, and so long as the cow has not completely released the fetus from her body, that cow should be regarded as identical with the Earth herself.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches heightened reverence and protection for a cow during the vulnerable moment of calving: until the calf is fully separated, the cow is to be treated as sacred as the Earth itself—implying restraint from harm, disturbance, or any act that would endanger mother or offspring.
Yudhiṣṭhira states a dharma-rule using a vivid image of birth: while the calf is still partly within the womb and appears suspended as it emerges, the cow is to be regarded as ‘Earth-form,’ underscoring her sanctity and the duty of careful protection at that time.