Shloka 36
गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्
Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows
रोग्णि रोग्णि महाभाग लोकाश्षास्या5क्षया:स्मृता: । संग्रामेष्वर्जयित्वा तु यो वै गा: सम्प्रयच्छति । आत्मविक्रयतुल्यास्ता: शाश्वता विद्धि कौशिक
Pitāmaha uvāca: rogṇi rogṇi mahābhāga lokāḥ śāśvatā akṣayāḥ smṛtāḥ | saṅgrāmeṣv arjayitvā tu yo vai gāḥ samprayacchati | ātmavikrayatulyās tāḥ śāśvatā viddhi Kauśika ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô toi que la fortune favorise, on se souvient que dans chaque poil d’une vache demeurent des mondes éternels et impérissables. Ainsi, quiconque, ayant remporté des vaches au combat, les offre ensuite en don, ces vaches deviennent pour lui comme des vaches obtenues au prix de la vente de soi, et elles confèrent un mérite perpétuel, infaillible. Sache-le, ô Kauśika.»
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse extols go-dāna as a supremely meritorious act: cows are symbolically said to contain imperishable ‘worlds’ in every hair, so gifting cows—especially those acquired through the hardships of battle—yields inexhaustible, lasting spiritual reward.
Bhīṣma (the Grandsire) is instructing his listener (addressed as Kauśika) within Anuśāsana Parva’s teachings on gifts and dharma, emphasizing that donating cows won in warfare produces enduring merit comparable to the extreme personal sacrifice implied by ‘self-sale.’