Shloka 49
Nṛga-upākhyāna: Brāhmaṇa-sva and the Consequence of Misappropriated Gift-Cattle (कृकलास-रूपे नृगोपाख्यानम्)
प्राणा वै प्राणिनामेते प्रोच्यन्ते भरतर्षभ । तस्माद् ददाति यो थेनुं प्राणानेष प्रयच्छति
prāṇā vai prāṇinām ete procyante bharatarṣabha | tasmād dadāti yo dhenuṁ prāṇān eṣa prayacchati ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Ô taureau parmi les Bharata, on dit que ces vaches sont les “souffles de vie” mêmes des êtres vivants, car elles soutiennent l’existence en nourrissant autrui. Ainsi, quiconque donne en aumône une vache laitière offre, en vérité, le don de la vie elle-même. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That giving a milch cow is ethically equivalent to giving life itself, because cows sustain and preserve the lives of others through nourishment; thus go-dāna is praised as a supreme form of dāna.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the fruits of various gifts. Here he emphasizes the exceptional merit of donating a milk-giving cow by equating it with prāṇa-dāna (the gift of life).