Shloka 51
गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्
Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows
मम लोके सुरै: सार्थ लोके यत्रापि चेच्छति
mama loke suraiḥ sārthaṃ loke yatrāpi cecchati | śatakrato! yo manuṣya uparyukta-vidhinā vane vasann gāṃ anusarati tathā niḥspṛhaḥ saṃyamī ca pavitraś ca tṛṇa-patra-gomaya-bhakṣaṇena jīvanaṃ nayati, sa manasi kāmanā-śūnye sati mama loke devaiḥ saha ānandena nivāsam āpnoti | athavā yatra yatra icchati tatra tatra lokān gacchati ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: «En mi reino, junto a los dioses, mora en alegría. Oh Śatakratu (Indra), el hombre que, siguiendo la disciplina expuesta, vive en el bosque, sigue a las vacas y permanece sin deseo, dueño de sí y puro—sosteniéndose con hierba, hojas y estiércol de vaca—cuando su mente queda libre de anhelo, alcanza mi mundo y vive allí feliz con las deidades. O bien, adondequiera que quiera, a esos mismos mundos puede ir.»
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity joined with purity, self-restraint, and freedom from desire—especially expressed through devoted service to cows and forest-discipline—yields exalted post-mortem attainments: joyful residence among the gods or access to desired higher realms.
Bhīṣma, speaking as Pitāmaha, addresses Indra (Śatakratu) while describing the फल (result) of a specific cow-centered ascetic vow: living in the forest, following cows, and subsisting on simple, austere fare. He states the spiritual reward in terms of reaching ‘his world’ with the gods or traveling to chosen worlds.