Shloka 43

Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant

Devanagari script

धृतराष्ट उवाच यो गोसहस्री शतद: समां समां गवां शती दश दद्याच्च शक्‍त्या । तथा दशभ्यो यश्न दद्यादिहैकां पज्चभ्यो वा दानशीलस्तथैकाम्‌

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | yo gosaḥasrī śatadaḥ samāṃ samāṃ gavāṃ śatī daśa dadyāc ca śaktyā | tathā daśabhyo yaś ca dadyād ihaikāṃ pañcabhyo vā dānaśīlas tathaikām |

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra dijo: «Quien posee mil vacas y, año tras año, entrega cien; quien tiene cien y, según sus medios, da diez; y quien sólo tiene diez pero aun así da una vaca aquí—o incluso el generoso que da una de cada cinco—tal dador alcanza el mundo de las vacas (Goloka)».

Word by Word

• धृतराष्ट्रः: Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• धृतराष्ट्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृतराष्ट्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गोसहस्री: possessing a thousand cows
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गोसहस्रिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शतदः: giver of a hundred
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शतद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• समाम्: year (as a time-span)
• समाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• समाम्: year (each year)
• समाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• गवाम्: of cows
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• शती: having a hundred (cows)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शतिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दश: ten
• दश: Karma
• Type: Numeral
• Root: दशन्
• Form: Accusative, Plural, Feminine (agreeing with गाः understood)

• दद्यात्: should give
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• शक्त्या: according to ability / with capacity
• शक्त्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• तथा: likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• दशभ्यः: from (among) ten
• दशभ्यः: Apadana
• Type: Numeral
• Root: दशन्
• Form: Ablative, Plural, Feminine (agreeing with गाः understood)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दद्यात्: should give
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• इह: here (in this world)
• इह: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह

• एकाम्: one (cow)
• एकाम्: Karma
• Type: Numeral/Adjective
• Root: एका
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• पञ्चभ्यः: from (among) five
• पञ्चभ्यः: Apadana
• Type: Numeral
• Root: पञ्चन्
• Form: Ablative, Plural, Feminine (agreeing with गाः understood)

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• दानशीलः: generous / of giving nature
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दानशील
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तथा: likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• एकाम्: one (cow)
• एकाम्: Karma
• Type: Numeral/Adjective
• Root: एका
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• cows (go/gavām)
• Goloka (implied by context of the verse and the cited passage)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Charity is measured by proportion and sincerity, not sheer wealth: giving according to one’s capacity—whether from a thousand, a hundred, ten, or five—earns religious merit and leads to a blessed posthumous state associated with cows (Goloka).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused discourse, Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks about the merit of gifting cows, specifying graded examples of donors at different levels of wealth and affirming the spiritual reward for such giving.