Shloka 9
Go-mahātmyam: Pavitrāṇāṃ Pavitraṃ
Cows and Ghee as Supreme Purifiers
हृष्ट-पुष्ट, सुलक्षणा, जवान तथा उत्तम गन्धवाली गायकी सभी लोग प्रशंसा करते हैं। जैसे नदियोंमें गंगा श्रेष्ठ हैं, वैसे ही गौओंमें कपिला गौ उत्तम मानी गयी है ।।
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: kasmāt samāne bahulāpradāne sadbhiḥ praśastaṃ kapilāpradānam | viśeṣam icchāmi mahāprabhāvaṃ śrotuṃ samartho 'smi bhavān pravaktum ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Grand-père, si le don d’une vache est, en son essence, le même quelle que soit sa couleur et procure un mérite abondant, pourquoi les vertueux ont-ils loué tout particulièrement l’offrande d’une vache fauve (kapilā) ? Je souhaite entendre, en détail, la grande puissance et l’exception de ce don. Je suis capable d’écouter, et toi de l’exposer.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: even when an act of charity seems generally equivalent (a cow-gift), tradition may recognize specific forms as especially efficacious. It emphasizes discerning the ethical and ritual rationale behind praised practices rather than following them blindly.
During Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira asks why the gifting of a kapilā (tawny) cow is singled out for special praise by the virtuous, and requests Bhīṣma to explain its distinctive spiritual potency.