Shloka 4
गोप्रदानविधिः (Gopradāna-vidhi) — Procedure and Praise of Cow-Gifting
कि त्वस्ति मम संदेहो गवां लोकं प्रति प्रभो । तत्त्वतः श्रोतुमिच्छामि गोदा यत्र वसन्त्युत
kiṁ tv asti mama saṁdeho gavāṁ lokaṁ prati prabho | tattvataḥ śrotum icchāmi godā yatra vasanti uta ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Ô Seigneur, j’ai encore un doute au sujet du monde des vaches (Goloka). Je souhaite entendre, selon la vérité, un exposé clair de ce royaume où demeurent ceux qui offrent des vaches en aumône.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma as a matter of precise understanding: Yudhiṣṭhira seeks a truthful description of the posthumous reward associated with go-dāna (donating cows), emphasizing that charity is not merely ritual but an ethically significant act whose consequences should be understood clearly.
In the ongoing instruction on gifts and their fruits, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses his teacher as ‘Prabho’ and asks to resolve his doubt about Goloka—the realm connected with cows—requesting an accurate account of the world where cow-donors are said to reside.