Shloka 9
गोशकृन्माहात्म्य-प्रश्नः (On the Merit of Cow-Dung and the Abode of Śrī) / Inquiry into the Sanctity of Cow-Dung
सायं प्रातश्न सततं होमकाले महाद्युते । गावो ददति वै हौम्यमृषिभ्य: पुरुषर्षभ,“महातेजस्वी पुरुषप्रवर! प्रातः:काल और सायंकाल सदा होमके समय ऋषियोंको गौएँ ही हवनीय पदार्थ (घृत आदि) देती हैं
sāyaṃ prātaś ca satataṃ homakāle mahādyute | gāvo dadati vai haumyam ṛṣibhyaḥ puruṣarṣabha ||
ભીષ્મે કહ્યું—હે મહાતેજસ્વી પુરુષશ્રેષ્ઠ! પ્રાતઃકાળ અને સાયંકાળે, હોમના નિયત સમયે, ગાયો જ ઋષિઓને હવ્યદ્રવ્ય—ઘૃત વગેરે—પ્રદાન કરે છે.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cows are portrayed as direct supporters of dharma because their products—especially ghee—sustain the daily homa/agnihotra of sages and householders; honoring and protecting them is thus linked to maintaining Vedic duty and moral order.
Bhīṣma, instructing a ‘great-lustrous’ listener (typically Yudhiṣṭhira in this parva), explains the practical religious role of cows: at morning and evening homa times they ‘provide’ the necessary oblation materials for ṛṣis.