Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 10
गोशकृन्माहात्म्य-प्रश्नः (On the Merit of Cow-Dung and the Abode of Śrī) / Inquiry into the Sanctity of Cow-Dung
यानि कानि च दुर्गाणि दुष्कृतानि कृतानि च । तरन्ति चैव पाप्मानं धेनुं ये ददति प्रभो
yāni kāni ca durgāṇi duṣkṛtāni kṛtāni ca | taranti caiva pāpmānaṃ dhenuṃ ye dadati prabho ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô seigneur, ceux qui donnent une vache en aumône franchissent tous les périls difficiles à traverser qui pourraient survenir ; et ils dépassent aussi la souillure du péché, triomphant des conséquences de leurs propres méfaits et de l’amas des fautes accumulées.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the dharmic efficacy of dāna—specifically gifting a milch cow—as a means to overcome impending hardships and to mitigate the moral and karmic burden of one’s misdeeds and accumulated sins.
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma addresses the king as “prabho” and praises cow-gifting as a powerful charitable act that helps a person ‘cross over’ dangers and sin, framing it as an ethical and spiritually beneficial practice.