Go-mahātmyam: Pavitrāṇāṃ Pavitraṃ
Cows and Ghee as Supreme Purifiers
तथा क्षीरं क्षरन्त्येता रोहिण्यो5मृतसम्भवम् । प्रभो! आपके ऊपर अमृतका छींटा पड़ा है। गौओंका दूध बछड़ोंके पीनेसे जूठा नहीं होता। जैसे चन्द्रमा अमृतका संग्रह करके फिर उसे बरसा देता है
tathā kṣīraṃ kṣaranty etā rohiṇyo ’mṛtasambhavam |
Bhīṣma berkata: “Wahai Prabhu, percikan amṛta telah jatuh atasmu. Maka sapi-sapi Rohiṇī ini memancarkan susu yang berasal dari nektar. Susu mereka tidak menjadi najis meski diminum anak-anaknya; sebagaimana sang Candra menghimpun sari amṛta lalu menurunkannya kembali, demikian pula sapi-sapi ini menghasilkan susu berasal dari amṛta.”
भीष्म उवाच
The passage elevates the cow’s milk as intrinsically pure and sacred—likened to nectar—supporting the ethical ideal of honoring and protecting cows and treating their gifts as ritually and morally wholesome.
Bhīṣma is explaining the exceptional sanctity of certain cows (Rohiṇī), asserting that their milk remains pure even after calves drink it, and illustrating this purity through the analogy of the moon collecting and raining down nectarean essence.