Shloka 18
Go-dāna-stuti and Ghṛta-Japa
Praise of cow-gift and ghee-centered recitation
गोद: शीली निर्भयश्चार्थदाता न स्याद् दुःखी वसुदाता च कामम् | उषस्योढा भारते यश्न विद्वान् विख्यातास्ते वैष्णवाश्रषन्द्रलोका:
Bhīṣma uvāca—
Godaḥ śīlī nirbhayaś cārthadātā na syād duḥkhī vasudātā ca kāmam | uṣasy uṭhā Bhārate yaś ca vidvān vikhyātās te vaiṣṇavāś candralokāḥ ||
Bhishma dit : Le donateur d’une vache est vertueux, et celui qui en paie la juste valeur est sans crainte. Celui qui, à la place d’une vache, offre de l’or selon ses moyens ne tombe pas dans la peine. Ceux qui se lèvent à l’aube et accomplissent leurs observances religieuses quotidiennes, ceux qui sont savants dans le Mahābhārata et ceux qui sont de célèbres dévots de Viṣṇu—tous atteignent le Monde de la Lune.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity aligned with dharma—especially cow-gift or its fair equivalent—brings merit and freedom from sorrow; disciplined daily conduct and Vaiṣṇava devotion elevate one’s spiritual destiny (here, Candraloka).
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he praises the merit of go-dāna and acceptable substitution by gold, then links moral discipline (rising at dawn, daily rites), scriptural learning (knowledge of the Bhārata), and devotion to Viṣṇu with attainment of a heavenly realm.