Shloka 5
Adhyāya 138: Vāyu’s Exempla on Brāhmaṇa-Prabhāva and a Cosmological Clarification
Devanagari script
तासु चैव महापुण्यं शुश्रूषा च महाफलम् । अहन्यहनि धर्मेण युज्यते वै गवाह्विक:
Transliteration
tāsu caiva mahāpuṇyaṃ śuśrūṣā ca mahāphalam | ahany ahani dharmeṇa yujyate vai gavāhvikaḥ ||
Translation
その牛らに仕えること自体が大いなる功徳であり、大いなる霊的果報をもたらす。日々、正しき法に則って牛に食を施す者は、つねに大いなるダルマを積み重ねる。
Word by Word
तासुin/among those (cows)
तासु:
Adhikarana
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
FormFeminine, Locative, Plural
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
एवindeed/just
एव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएव
महापुण्यम्great merit
महापुण्यम्:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootमहापुण्य
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
शुश्रूषाservice/attendance
शुश्रूषा:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootशुश्रूषा
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
महाफलम्great fruit/result
महाफलम्:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootमहाफल
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
अहन्यहनिday by day / every day
अहन्यहनि:
Adhikarana
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअहन्
धर्मेणby/through righteousness; in a righteous way
धर्मेण:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootधर्म
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Singular
युज्यतेis joined with / attains / is endowed with
युज्यते:
TypeVerb
Rootयुज्
FormPresent, Atmanepada, Third, Singular, Passive/Reflexive (contextual)
वैindeed (emphatic particle)
वै:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootवै
गवाह्विकःone connected with cows; a cowherd/keeper (lit. ‘cow-named’)
गवाह्विकः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootगवाह्विक
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
Speaker
महेश्वर उवाच
Characters & Entities
M
Maheshvara (Śiva)C
cows (gāvaḥ)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
Daily, righteous care and feeding of cows is presented as a sustained practice of dharma that generates great puṇya (merit) and yields significant spiritual benefit.
Maheshvara (Śiva), speaking as an authority on dharma, praises the religious and ethical value of serving cows, emphasizing that consistent, day-by-day practice brings continual accumulation of dharma.