Shloka 35
गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्
Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows
यश्चात्मविक्रयं कृत्वा गा: क्रीत्वा सम्प्रयच्छति । यावत् संदर्शयेद् गां वै स तावत् फलमश्लुते
yaścātmavikrayaṁ kṛtvā gāḥ krītvā samprayacchati | yāvat saṁdarśayed gāṁ vai sa tāvat phalam aśnute ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Même celui qui s’est vendu lui-même en servitude, s’il achète des vaches et les donne en aumône, jouit du fruit infaillible de ce don aussi longtemps qu’il contemple l’existence même de la race des vaches dans l’univers.»
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that donating cows is considered an exceptionally powerful act of dharma: even if someone must sell himself to obtain the means, the merit of giving cows is said to yield an enduring, seemingly inexhaustible reward.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on duties and gifts. Here he praises go-dāna by stating that a donor who buys cows—even at the cost of self-sale—enjoys the fruit of that charity for as long as the cow-kind continues to be seen in the world.