Mahabharata 3.201.71 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 71
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
यावन्ति तस्या रोमाणि वत्सस्य च युधिष्ठिर । तावद् युगसहस््राणि स्वर्गलोके महीयते
yāvanti tasyā romāṇi vatsasya ca yudhiṣṭhira | tāvad yugasahasrāṇi svargaloke mahīyate ||
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «¡Oh, Yudhiṣṭhira! Por tantos pelos como haya en el cuerpo de esa vaca y de su ternero, por tantos miles de yugas el donante es honrado y establecido en el mundo celestial.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that charitable giving (especially the gift of a cow with her calf) is a powerful dharmic act whose merit is portrayed as immense—measured hyperbolically by the number of hairs on the animals—encouraging generosity and faith in karmic results.
In a discourse context within the Vana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks about the fruits of dāna, stating that the donor of the cow-and-calf attains honor in Svarga for thousands of yugas, emphasizing the exalted reward associated with such a gift.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.