Shloka 31
Viṣṇu-sahasranāma—Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Recitation (विष्णोर्नामसहस्रम्)
इसलिये विशेष यत्न करके दीप और जलका दान करना चाहिये। विशेषतः पुष्कर तीर्थमें जो वेदोंके पारंगत विद्वान् ब्राह्मणको कपिला दान करते हैं, उन्हें उस दानका जो फल मिलता है, उसे सुनो। उसे साँड़ों-लहित सौ गौओंके दानका शाश्वत फल प्राप्त होता है ।।
pāpaṃ karma ca yat kiñcid brahmahatyāsamaṃ bhavet | śodhayet kapilā ghoṣā pradattaṃ gośataṃ yathā ||
Dijo Yama: Por eso debe uno esforzarse de modo especial en dar lámparas y agua. En particular, en el tīrtha de Puṣkara, quienes ofrecen una vaca kapilā a un brāhmaṇa sabio, consumado en los Vedas—escuchad el fruto de esa dádiva—obtienen un mérito imperecedero, como el de donar cien vacas con sus toros. Y cualquier acto pecaminoso—hasta uno comparable al grave crimen de matar a un brāhmaṇa—puede ser purificado por el don de una vaca kapilā, del mismo modo que se alcanza el fruto meritorio de regalar cien vacas.
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that intentional acts of charity—especially the gift of a kapilā cow—are presented as powerful means of purification, capable of cleansing even extremely grave sins, and yielding enduring religious merit comparable to gifting a hundred cows.
Yama is instructing about the ethical and ritual potency of dāna (gift-giving). In this section he highlights cow-gifting (kapilā) as an expiatory act and links it to the broader exhortation to give beneficial gifts such as lamps and water, particularly in sacred contexts.