Shloka 29
Adhyāya 60: Dāna vs. Yajña—Royal Giving, Protection, and Karmic Share
यावन्ति रोमाणि भवन्ति धेन्वा- स्तावत् काल प्राप्प स गोप्रदानात् पुत्रांश्व पौत्रांश्ष कुलं च सर्व- मासप्तमं तारयते परत्र
vaiśampāyana uvāca | yāvanti romāṇi bhavanti dhenvāḥ tāvat kālaṁ prāpya sa gopradānāt | putrān ca pautrāṁś ca kulaṁ ca sarvam ā-saptamaṁ tārayate paratra ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : Autant il y a de poils sur le corps d’une vache, autant d’années un homme—ayant obtenu le fruit du don d’une vache—jouit du bonheur céleste. Et ce n’est pas tout : l’acte même d’offrir la vache devient un moyen de délivrance pour ses fils, ses petits-fils et toute sa lignée dans l’au-delà, jusqu’à la septième génération.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse extols go-dāna (gifting a cow) as a highly meritorious act: its spiritual reward is vast (symbolized by the cow’s hairs as a measure of years in heaven) and it is portrayed as benefiting not only the donor but also the donor’s descendants up to seven generations, emphasizing dharma through generosity and responsibility toward one’s lineage.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused discourse on gifts and dharma, Vaiśampāyana reports a teaching that quantifies and magnifies the फल (result) of cow-gifting: the donor enjoys heavenly pleasure for an immense duration, and the act is said to ‘carry across’ the donor’s family line in the hereafter up to the seventh generation.