Shloka 22
Cyavana’s Yogic Display and Kuśika’s Recognition of Tapas (च्यवन-योगप्रभावः कुशिकस्य तपःप्रशंसा च)
(ब्राह्मणानां गवां चैव कुलमेकं द्विधा कृतम् । एकत्र मन्त्रास्तिष्ठन्ति हविरन्यत्र तिष्ठतति ।।
bhīṣma uvāca |
brāhmaṇānāṃ gavāṃ caiva kulam ekaṃ dvidhā kṛtam |
ekatra mantrās tiṣṭhanti havir anyatra tiṣṭhati ||
anarghyā mahārāja dvijā varṇeṣu cottamāḥ |
gāvaś ca puruṣavyāghra gaur mūlyaṃ parikalpyatām ||
ビーシュマは言った。「大王よ、婆羅門と牛の系譜は本来ひとつであるが、二つの姿に分かれて現れている。ひとつには聖なるマントラが宿り、もうひとつにはハヴィス—供物そのもの—が宿る。人中の虎よ、二度生まれ（ドヴィジャ）は諸身分のうち最上で、その価は量れぬ。牛もまた同じく、値を付け得ない。ゆえに彼らの『価』として一頭の牛を定めよ—それは真の価値を測るためではなく、施しにおける相応の敬意のしるしである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Brahmins and cows are presented as intrinsically sacred and ‘priceless’: Brahmins embody the Vedic mantras, while cows embody the sacrificial offering (havis). Since their worth cannot be truly measured, any ‘price’ is only a symbolic honor—hence the stipulation of giving a cow as an appropriate token in acts of giving and reverence.
Bhishma is instructing the king on dharma related to honoring Brahmins and cows. He frames them as two manifestations of a single sacred lineage—mantra and oblation—then advises that, though beyond valuation, a cow may be fixed as the conventional token of value in the context of gifts and ritual propriety.