Chapter 84: Brahmā’s Counsel on Tāraka, the Search for Agni, and the Genesis of Skanda
Kārttikeya
अध्यापयेरन् शिष्यान् वै गोमतीं यज्ञसम्मिताम् | त्रिरात्रोपोषितो भूत्वा गोमतीं लभते वरम्
adhyāpayeyur śiṣyān vai gomatiṁ yajñasammitām | trirātropoṣito bhūtvā gomatiṁ labhate varam |
Vyāsa dit : Que les brahmanes savants, bien formés au savoir sacré et aux observances védiques, enseignent à leurs disciples la Gomati-vidyā, discipline tenue pour l’égale d’un yajña : qu’elle soit transmise devant les feux sacrés, entre le feu et les vaches, et dans les assemblées de brahmanes. Celui qui jeûne trois nuits et récite le mantra Gomati obtient le don : la bénédiction des vaches.
व्यास उवाच
The verse upholds disciplined transmission of sacred knowledge: qualified brāhmaṇas should teach the Gomati-vidyā in ritually appropriate settings, and sincere austerity—fasting for three nights with mantra-recitation—yields a concrete dharmic fruit, symbolized by the boon of cows.
Vyāsa describes a specific Vedic discipline (Gomati-vidyā/mantra), prescribing how it should be taught (to disciples, amid sacred fires and cows, and in brāhmaṇa assemblies) and stating the result for an observer who performs a three-night fast and recitation: attainment of the ‘boon of cows’.