Shloka 263
Go-mahātmyam: Pavitrāṇāṃ Pavitraṃ
Cows and Ghee as Supreme Purifiers
आसामैश्वर्यमिच्छन्ति सर्वेडमृतमयं शुभम् | 'जैसे वायु
āsām aiśvaryam icchanti sarve ’mṛtamayaṃ śubham | yathā vāyur agniḥ suvarṇaṃ samudro devatābhiḥ pītam amṛtaṃ ca na ucchiṣṭaṃ bhavati, tathā vatsānāṃ pāne ’pi vatsasnehavatī gauḥ na dūṣyate na ucchiṣṭā bhavati | (tātparyam: pāne vatsamukhāt patitaḥ phenakaḥ aśuddhaḥ na manyate) etā gāvaḥ svadugdhaghṛtābhyāṃ idaṃ sarvaṃ jagat pālayiṣyanti | sarve icchanti etāsāṃ gāṃ madhye maṅgalakārī amṛtamaya-dugdha-sampad avicchinnā tiṣṭhet |
Bhishma berkata: semua orang menginginkan bagi sapi-sapi itu kemakmuran yang mujur, laksana amerta. Sebagaimana angin, api, emas, samudra, bahkan amerta yang diminum para dewa tidak dianggap “tersisa” atau ternoda, demikian pula seekor sapi yang dengan kasih menyusui anak-anaknya tidak menjadi najis atau “bersisa” ketika anaknya minum. Karena itu, buih yang jatuh dari mulut anak sapi saat menyusu pun tidak dipandang kotor. Sapi-sapi demikian, melalui susu dan ghee-nya, menopang seluruh dunia; maka orang pun berharap agar kekayaan susu mereka yang suci, laksana amerta, senantiasa tetap berlimpah.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that a cow’s nurturing act is intrinsically pure: even if a calf’s mouth-contact produces foam or remnants, it is not treated as ucchiṣṭa (defiling leftover). This supports a dharmic ethic that honors the cow as a sustaining, auspicious source of nourishment for society.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he addresses concerns about impurity connected with calves drinking. He uses analogies (wind, fire, gold, ocean, divine nectar) to argue that certain sustaining or inherently pure substances are not defiled, and concludes by praising cows whose milk and ghee maintain the world and whose abundance everyone wishes to preserve.