Shloka 9
Go-apahāra (Cattle Theft), Go-dāna (Cow-Gift), and Suvarṇa-dakṣiṇā (Gold Fee): Karmic Consequence and Purificatory Merit
शतं सहस्राणि गवां शतं पुनः पुन: शतान्यष्टशतायुतानि । त्वया पुरा दत्तमितीह शुश्रुम नृप द्विजेभ्य: क्व नु तद् गतं तव
śataṃ sahasrāṇi gavāṃ śataṃ punaḥ punaḥ śatāny aṣṭaśatāyutāni | tvayā purā dattam itīha śuśruma nṛpa dvijebhyaḥ kva nu tad gataṃ tava ||
Dijo Bhishma: «Oh rey, hemos oído que en tiempos antiguos diste a los brahmanes cien mil vacas; luego otra vez cien, y otra vez cien; y después, en repetidos dones grandiosos, ochocientas decenas de millar más. ¿Adónde, pues, ha ido el mérito de todas esas dádivas para ti?»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even vast charity (such as repeated cow-gifts) must be protected by right conduct; Bhishma’s question implies that merit can be diminished or lost when later actions contradict dharma, so one must unite generosity with ethical living.
Bhishma addresses a king and recalls reports of his enormous donations to Brahmins—ranging from 100,000 cows to further gifts totaling millions—then challenges him by asking where the fruit of those gifts has gone, setting up a discussion on how merit operates and how it may be preserved or squandered.