Shloka 17
Go-dāna-stuti and Ghṛta-Japa
Praise of cow-gift and ghee-centered recitation
एवमेतान् गुणान् विद्याद् गवादीनां यथाक्रमम् । गोप्रदाता समाप्रोति समस्तानष्टमे क्रमे
Bhīṣma uvāca: evam etān guṇān vidyād gavādīnāṁ yathākramam | gopradātā samāpnoti samastān aṣṭame krame ||
Demikianlah, hendaknya orang memahami secara berurutan jasa-kebajikan yang terkait dengan sapi dan pemberian sejenisnya. Pemberi sapi meraih ganjaran sepenuhnya, dan ganjaran itu menjadi nyata pada langkah kedelapan (ketika brāhmaṇa penerima beranjak pergi membawa pemberian).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that the ethical and religious merit of gifts—especially cow-gift (go-dāna)—should be understood in an ordered way, and that the fruit of such giving is immediate and assured, symbolically said to arise by the recipient’s eighth step.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dāna-dharma, he summarizes the ordered results of cow-related gifts and emphasizes the potency of go-dāna: once a brāhmaṇa accepts the cow and departs, the donor’s merit is considered to have taken effect without delay.