Shloka 47
अधघ्न्या इति गवां नाम क एता हन्तुम्ति । महच्चकाराकुशल वृष॑ं गां वाउडलभेत् तु यः,श्रुतिमें गौओंको अघ्न्या (अवध्य) कहा गया है, फिर कौन उन्हें मारनेका विचार करेगा? जो पुरुष गाय और बैलोंको मारता है, वह महान् पाप करता है
adhaghnye iti gavāṁ nāma; ka etā hantuṁ hi? mahac ca karoty akuśalaṁ yo vṛṣaṁ gāṁ vā uḍḍalabheta tu yaḥ.
“Los Vedas llaman a las vacas ‘adhaghnī’: no deben ser muertas. ¿Quién, sabiéndolo, pensaría siquiera en matarlas? Quien da muerte a una vaca o a un toro comete una falta gravísima y carga con gran pecado.”
तुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
Śruti designates the cow as ‘adhaghnī’ (not to be slain); therefore harming or killing cows and bulls is presented as a serious adharma that generates great pāpa. The verse grounds ethical restraint in scriptural authority and compassion.
In the Śānti Parva’s dialogue, Tulādhāra instructs on righteous conduct. Here he argues that since the Vedic tradition treats cows as inviolable, a dharmic person should not contemplate their killing, and he condemns such violence as a grave moral fault.