Shloka 18
Suvarṇa-dāna: Kārttikeya’s Origin and the Defeat of Tāraka (सुवर्णदान-प्रसङ्गे कार्त्तिकेय-उत्पत्ति तथा तारकवधः)
धारयन्ति प्रजाश्नैव पयसा हविषा तथा । एतासां तनयाश्वापि कृषियोगमुपासते
dhārayanti prajāś caiva payasā haviṣā tathā | etāsāṃ tanayāś cāpi kṛṣiyogam upāsate ||
«Ellas sostienen a los pueblos, en verdad, con su leche y asimismo con el havis, la ofrenda apta para el sacrificio. Y también los hijos de ellas, los machos, se entregan a la disciplina de la labranza.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cows (and their progeny) are portrayed as pillars of dharmic society: they nourish people through milk, support yajña through sacrificial oblations (such as ghee), and their offspring contribute materially by enabling agriculture—thus linking ethical duty to social and economic stability.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma in the Anushasana Parva, he explains the societal value of cattle: cows provide milk and ritual resources, while their offspring are employed in farming, emphasizing why their protection and proper care are treated as a significant duty.