Shloka 6

Gavāṃ Māhātmya — Go-dāna, Yajña-ādhāra, and Goloka

Brahmā–Indra–Surabhi Itihāsa

Devanagari script

उत्तस्थु: सिद्धकामास्ता भूतभव्यस्य मातर: । प्रातर्नमस्यास्ता गावस्तत:ः पुष्टिमवाप्लुयात्‌

Transliteration

uttasthuḥ siddhakāmās tā bhūtabhavyasya mātaraḥ | prātar namasyās tā gāvas tataḥ puṣṭim avāpnuyāt |

Translation

Vasiṣṭha dit : «Lorsque leurs desseins furent accomplis, ces vaches se relevèrent de leur austérité. Elles sont les mères du temps — de ce qui fut, de ce qui sera et de ce qui est. C’est pourquoi, chaque matin, on doit se lever et saluer les vaches avec révérence ; de là, l’homme reçoit nourriture, bien-être et force.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'uttasthuḥ', 'definition': 'they rose up, they stood up (perfect/preterite of √sthā with ud-)'}, {'term': 'siddhakāmāḥ', 'definition': 'those whose desires/aims are accomplished

• fulfilled in purpose'}, {'term': 'gāvaḥ', 'definition': 'cows (nominative plural of go)'}, {'term': 'tapasā', 'definition': 'by austerity, through ascetic practice'}, {'term': 'mātaraḥ', 'definition': 'mothers, progenitresses'}, {'term': 'bhūta', 'definition': 'the past

• what has been'}, {'term': 'bhavya', 'definition': 'the future

• what is to be'}, {'term': 'prātaḥ', 'definition': 'in the morning, at dawn'}, {'term': 'namasyāḥ / namasyāt', 'definition': 'should be saluted/revered (gerundive/optative sense: ‘one should bow’)'}, {'term': 'praṇāma', 'definition': 'bowing, respectful salutation (implied by namasyā-)'}, {'term': 'puṣṭi', 'definition': 'nourishment, thriving, prosperity, bodily strength'}, {'term': 'avāpnuyāt', 'definition': 'one would obtain/attain (optative of ava-√āp)'}]

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• cows (gāvaḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches daily reverence toward cows as a dharmic practice: honoring them—seen as life-sustaining and symbolically ‘mothers of time’—is said to yield puṣṭi, i.e., nourishment, strength, and well-being.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vasiṣṭha describes cows who, after completing their tapas and achieving their purpose, rise up; he then draws a prescriptive lesson for householders: bow to cows each morning to gain flourishing and vitality.