Shloka 43
Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
धृतराष्ट उवाच यो गोसहस्री शतद: समां समां गवां शती दश दद्याच्च शक्त्या । तथा दशभ्यो यश्न दद्यादिहैकां पज्चभ्यो वा दानशीलस्तथैकाम्
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | yo gosaḥasrī śatadaḥ samāṃ samāṃ gavāṃ śatī daśa dadyāc ca śaktyā | tathā daśabhyo yaś ca dadyād ihaikāṃ pañcabhyo vā dānaśīlas tathaikām |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra berkata: “Ia yang memiliki seribu sapi dan tiap tahun mendanakan seratus; ia yang memiliki seratus dan, menurut kemampuannya, mendanakan sepuluh; dan ia yang hanya punya sepuluh namun mendanakan satu—bahkan si dermawan yang mendanakan satu dari lima—pemberi seperti itu mencapai alam para sapi (Goloka).”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity is measured by proportion and sincerity, not sheer wealth: giving according to one’s capacity—whether from a thousand, a hundred, ten, or five—earns religious merit and leads to a blessed posthumous state associated with cows (Goloka).
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused discourse, Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks about the merit of gifting cows, specifying graded examples of donors at different levels of wealth and affirming the spiritual reward for such giving.