Shloka 51
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
जो मनुष्य गायकी पीठ छूता और उसकी पूँछको नमस्कार करता है, वह मानो उपर्युक्त तीर्थोमें तीन दिनतक उपवासपूर्वक रहकर स्नान कर लेता है ।।
yo manuṣyo gāyakyāḥ pīṭhaṃ spṛśati tasyāś ca pucchaṃ namaskaroti sa manye uparyukteṣu tīrtheṣu tridinopavāsapūrvakaṃ snānaṃ kṛtavān bhavati || tato vidyutprabho vākyam abhyabhāṣata vāsavam | ayaṃ sūkṣmataro dharmas taṃ nibodha śatakrato ||
Śakra (Indra) declara: «Quien toca el lugar donde reposa la vaca y se inclina ante su cola obtiene mérito como si hubiera ayunado tres días y se hubiera bañado en los vados sagrados mencionados antes.» Entonces Vidyutprabha se dirige a Vāsava (Indra): «Éste es un punto de dharma aún más sutil; compréndelo bien, oh Śatakratu.»
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that simple acts of reverence toward the cow—touching her resting-place and bowing to her tail—are credited with merit comparable to demanding pilgrimage austerities (three days of fasting and bathing at sacred tīrthas). It also hints that dharma includes subtle, inwardly oriented principles beyond external ritual.
Indra (Śakra/Vāsava/Śatakratu) states the spiritual fruit of honoring the cow in a specific way. Immediately afterward, Vidyutprabha speaks to Indra, indicating that an even more nuanced explanation of dharma is to follow.