Shloka 25
गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्
Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows
वैश्यस्यैते यदि गुणास्तस्य पठचशतं भवेत् । शूद्रस्यापि विनीतस्य चतुर्भागफलं स्मृतम्
vaiśyasyāite yadi guṇās tasya pañcaśataṁ bhavet | śūdrasyāpi vinītasya caturbhāgaphalaṁ smṛtam |
ビーシュマは言った。「もしヴァイシャがこれらの徳を備えるなら、その功徳は五百（頭の牛）と数えられる——外形の行いが一頭の牛の施しにすぎなくとも。さらに、よく律し、へりくだるシュードラには、その果は四分の一と記される——すなわち二百五十頭の牛に等しい。教えはこうだ。施す者の倫理的な質——自制、謙虚、そして正しい行い——が、布施の霊的価値を物の量を超えて増大させるのである。」
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The merit of a gift is not determined only by the object given, but by the giver’s inner virtues and discipline; ethical refinement increases the spiritual fruit even for those outside the Brahmin class.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dāna-dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, he explains graded results of cow-gifting: a virtuous Vaiśya gains merit equated to five hundred cows, and a humble, well-disciplined Śūdra gains a quarter-share of the Brahmin-standard merit (stated as two hundred and fifty cows in the received explanation).