Shloka 49
Nṛga-upākhyāna: Brāhmaṇa-sva and the Consequence of Misappropriated Gift-Cattle (कृकलास-रूपे नृगोपाख्यानम्)
प्राणा वै प्राणिनामेते प्रोच्यन्ते भरतर्षभ । तस्माद् ददाति यो थेनुं प्राणानेष प्रयच्छति
prāṇā vai prāṇinām ete procyante bharatarṣabha | tasmād dadāti yo dhenuṁ prāṇān eṣa prayacchati ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: «Oh toro entre los Bharata, se dice que estas vacas son los mismos “alientos vitales” de los seres vivientes, pues sostienen la vida al nutrir a otros. Por ello, quien entrega en caridad una vaca lechera ofrece, en verdad, el don de la vida misma».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That giving a milch cow is ethically equivalent to giving life itself, because cows sustain and preserve the lives of others through nourishment; thus go-dāna is praised as a supreme form of dāna.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the fruits of various gifts. Here he emphasizes the exceptional merit of donating a milk-giving cow by equating it with prāṇa-dāna (the gift of life).