Shloka 13
Go-dāna-stuti and Ghṛta-Japa
Praise of cow-gift and ghee-centered recitation
या वै यूयं सो5हमद्यैव भावो युष्मान् दत्त्वा चाहमात्मप्रदाता । मनश्च्युता मन एवोपपन्ना: संधुक्षध्वं सौम्यरूपोग्ररूपा:
bhīṣma uvāca |
yā vai yūyaṃ so ’ham adyaiva bhāvo yuṣmān dattvā cāham ātma-pradātā |
manaś-cyutā mana evopapannāḥ sandhukṣadhvaṃ saumya-rūpogra-rūpāḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「牛たちよ、汝らの真の本性がいかなるものであれ、それこそ我が本性でもある。汝らと我との間に真実の差別はない。ゆえに、今日汝らを贈与することは、まことに我が身を贈与することにほかならぬ。施主の心を離れ、受者の心に安住した今—柔和の相も、猛威の相も現し得る汝らよ—所願の享楽を授け、繁栄をもたらし、施す者と受ける者の双方を満ち足らせよ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dāna as a moral and inner act: the donor relinquishes possessiveness (mamatva) so completely that the gift becomes a ‘self-offering.’ The recipient’s recitation confirms the ethical transfer—ownership and mental claim move from donor to recipient—so the act is complete in both deed and intention.
Bhishma is instructing on the proper procedure of go-dāna (gift of cows). The donor recites the first half to declare identity with the cows and the sincerity of giving; the qualified Brahmin recipient recites the second half to acknowledge the transfer and to invoke the cows’ auspicious power—gentle and formidable—to bring welfare to both parties.