Shloka 28
Adhyāya 60: Dāna vs. Yajña—Royal Giving, Protection, and Karmic Share
प्रयच्छते य: कपिलां सवत्सां कांस्योपदोहां कनकाग्रशृंगीम् । तैस्तैर्गुणै: कामदुहास्य भूत्वा नरं प्रदातारमुपैति सा गौ:
prayacchate yaḥ kapilāṃ savatsāṃ kāṃsyopadohāṃ kanakāgraśṛṅgīm | taistair guṇaiḥ kāmaduhāsyabhūtvā naraṃ pradātāramupaiti sā gauḥ ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Quien da en caridad una vaca bermeja junto con su ternero, con un recipiente de ordeño de metal de campana y con las puntas de los cuernos chapadas en oro, esa misma vaca—dotada de tales excelencias—acude al donante como una Kamadhenu, vaca que cumple los deseos, trayéndole el fruto de su dádiva.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches dāna-dharma: a gift offered with completeness and auspicious attributes (cow with calf, proper vessel, honored adornment) yields corresponding merit, returning to the donor as sustained welfare—symbolized by the cow becoming a kāmaduhā (wish-fulfiller).
Vaiśampāyana describes the fruit of donating a specially qualified cow. The act of giving is portrayed as generating a tangible, beneficent result: the donated cow ‘comes’ to the giver in effect, as a source of desired benefits, i.e., the karmic and ethical reward of the charity.