Shloka 11
Go-dāna-stuti and Ghṛta-Japa
Praise of cow-gift and ghee-centered recitation
गावो ममैन: प्रणुदन्तु सौर्या- स्तथा सौम्या: स्वर्गयानाय सनन््तु । आत्मानं मे मातृवच्चा श्रयन्तु यथानुक्ता: सन्तु सर्वाशिषो मे
gāvo mamainaḥ praṇudantu sauryās tathā saumyāḥ svargayānāya sanantu | ātmānaṃ me mātṛvac cāśrayantu yathānuktāḥ santu sarvāśiṣo me ||
ビーシュマは言った。「太陽と月の分より顕れた牛たちよ、我が罪を払い去れ。天界および他の勝れた世界へ赴く我が道を助けよ。母のごとく庇護を与えよ。そして牛母の恩寵によって、これらのマントラに明言されたものも、言外に残されたものも、我があらゆる祝福と願いとがことごとく成就せんことを。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents the cow as a sacred refuge and a source of purification: honoring and seeking the grace of cows is portrayed as dispelling moral demerit (enaḥ), supporting auspicious destiny (svarga-yāna), and fulfilling both expressed and unexpressed righteous wishes.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction (Anuśāsana Parva), he utters a prayer/benediction invoking cows—linked symbolically to the Sun and Moon—to remove sin, grant maternal protection, and aid his (and by extension the listener’s) attainment of higher worlds and desired blessings.