Shloka 55
Phala of Vrata, Niyama, Svādhyāya, Dama, Satya, Brahmacarya, and Service (व्रत-नियम-स्वाध्याय-दम-सत्य-ब्रह्मचर्य-शुश्रूषा-फलप्रश्नः)
गुरुं शिष्यो वरयेद् गोप्रदाने स वै गन्ता नियतं स्वर्गमेव । विधिज्ञानां सुमहान् धर्म एष विधिं ह्याद्यं विधय: संविशन्ति
guruṁ śiṣyo varayed gopradāne sa vai gantā niyataṁ svargam eva | vidhijñānāṁ sumahān dharma eṣa vidhiṁ hy ādyaṁ vidhayaḥ saṁviśanti ||
Naciketas dit : «Lorsqu’un disciple s’apprête à faire le don d’une vache, qu’il choisisse un maître digne de le recevoir. Si le maître accepte ce don de vache, le disciple atteint assurément le ciel. Pour ceux qui connaissent les règles de la conduite sacrée, ce don de vache est un dharma très grand ; en vérité, tous les autres rites prescrits se trouvent rassemblés dans cette ordonnance primordiale.»
नाचिकेत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that charity is not merely the act of giving but also the discernment of a worthy recipient: a disciple should select a proper guru for the cow-gift, and the guru’s acceptance completes the rite, yielding great merit—so great that other ritual injunctions are said to be encompassed within this foundational act.
Naciketas is speaking about dharma and ritual propriety, explaining the correct procedure and spiritual consequence of gopradāna (cow-donation): the disciple chooses a guru to receive it; if the guru accepts, the disciple is assured heavenly attainment, and the act is praised as a principal ordinance among rites.