Shloka 9
गवां लोकवर्णनं तथा गोप्रदानफलश्रुतिः
Description of the ‘World of Cows’ and the Stated Fruits of Cow-Gift
प्रचोदनं देवकृतं गवां कर्मसु वर्तताम् । पूर्वमेवाक्षरं चान्यदभिधेयं तत: परम्
bhīṣma uvāca | pracodanaṃ devakṛtaṃ gavāṃ karmasu vartatām | pūrvam evākṣaraṃ cānyad abhidhēyaṃ tataḥ param |
Dorongan untuk menggerakkan ternak dalam pekerjaan suci mula-mula ditetapkan oleh para dewa. Maka ketentuan utama adalah ini: menjadikan lembu jantan sebagai bajak dan menghalau mereka demi yajña dipandang terpuji; tetapi menjadikan mereka bajak atau memukul dan menghalau mereka untuk pekerjaan selain yajña adalah tercela.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma distinguishes between sanctioned and unsanctioned use of force toward animals: driving/yoking cattle is justified only within divinely sanctioned sacrificial duty, while doing so for other ends is blameworthy.
In his instruction on dharma, Bhishma explains the origin and proper scope of goading cattle: the gods first employed it for sacrificial work, establishing a precedent that limits such treatment to ritual necessity.