Shloka 263
Go-mahātmyam: Pavitrāṇāṃ Pavitraṃ
Cows and Ghee as Supreme Purifiers
आसामैश्वर्यमिच्छन्ति सर्वेडमृतमयं शुभम् | 'जैसे वायु
āsām aiśvaryam icchanti sarve ’mṛtamayaṃ śubham | yathā vāyur agniḥ suvarṇaṃ samudro devatābhiḥ pītam amṛtaṃ ca na ucchiṣṭaṃ bhavati, tathā vatsānāṃ pāne ’pi vatsasnehavatī gauḥ na dūṣyate na ucchiṣṭā bhavati | (tātparyam: pāne vatsamukhāt patitaḥ phenakaḥ aśuddhaḥ na manyate) etā gāvaḥ svadugdhaghṛtābhyāṃ idaṃ sarvaṃ jagat pālayiṣyanti | sarve icchanti etāsāṃ gāṃ madhye maṅgalakārī amṛtamaya-dugdha-sampad avicchinnā tiṣṭhet |
Bhishma explica que todos desean para esas vacas una prosperidad auspiciosa, semejante al amṛta. Así como el viento, el fuego, el oro, el océano y aun el néctar bebido por los dioses no se consideran “manchados” ni “sobras”, del mismo modo la vaca que, con amor, alimenta a sus terneros no queda impura cuando ellos maman. Por ello, la espuma que cae de la boca del ternero mientras bebe no se tiene por sucia. Tales vacas, con su leche y su ghee, sostienen al mundo entero; por eso los hombres anhelan que la bendita riqueza de su leche, como amṛta, permanezca siempre abundante.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that a cow’s nurturing act is intrinsically pure: even if a calf’s mouth-contact produces foam or remnants, it is not treated as ucchiṣṭa (defiling leftover). This supports a dharmic ethic that honors the cow as a sustaining, auspicious source of nourishment for society.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he addresses concerns about impurity connected with calves drinking. He uses analogies (wind, fire, gold, ocean, divine nectar) to argue that certain sustaining or inherently pure substances are not defiled, and concludes by praising cows whose milk and ghee maintain the world and whose abundance everyone wishes to preserve.