Mahabharata 3.201.72 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 72
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
सुवर्णनासां यः कृत्वा सुखुरां कृष्णधेनुकाम् । तिलै: प्रच्छादितां दद्यात् सर्वरत्नैरलंकृताम्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | suvarṇanāsāṃ yaḥ kṛtvā śukharāṃ kṛṣṇadhenukām | tilaiḥ pracchāditāṃ dadyāt sarvaratnair alaṅkṛtām, bhārata! yo so sone kī nāk aura sundar cāṃdī ke khuroṃ se vibhūṣit, sab prakār ke ratnoṃ se alaṅkṛt, kālī gau ko tiloṃ se pracchādit karke usakā dāna kartā hai aura jo us dān ko lekar punaḥ kisī dūsre śreṣṭha puruṣ ko arpit kar detā hai, vaha sarvottama phal kā bhāgī hotā hai
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «¡Oh, Bhārata! Quien prepara para el don una vaca negra—colocándole un adorno de oro en la nariz, engalanando sus pezuñas con fina plata, adornándola con toda clase de joyas y cubriéndola con semillas de sésamo—y la entrega en caridad; y quien, tras recibir tal don, lo ofrece de nuevo a otro hombre excelente y digno: ese obtiene el fruto supremo.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that lavish, reverent giving (dāna) directed toward worthy recipients yields great spiritual merit, and that re-gifting a received donation to another deserving person can be an especially meritorious act—emphasizing non-attachment and the circulation of generosity.
Yudhiṣṭhira is describing a specific exemplary form of charitable gift: a black cow richly adorned (golden nose-ornament, silvered hooves, jewels) and ritually covered with sesame seeds, given as dāna; he then notes the superior merit of one who, after receiving such a gift, offers it onward to another excellent person.
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