Gavāṃ Māhātmya — Go-dāna, Yajña-ādhāra, and Goloka
Brahmā–Indra–Surabhi Itihāsa
तपसोअ<न्ते महाराज गावो लोकपरायणा: । तस्माद् गावो महाभागा: पवित्र परमुच्यते,महाराज! तपस्या समाप्त होनेपर गौएँ सम्पूर्ण जगत्का आश्रय बन गयीं; इसलिये वे महान् सौभाग्यशालिनी गौएँ परम पवित्र बतायी जाती हैं
Vasiṣṭha uvāca: tapasānte mahārāja gāvo lokaparāyaṇāḥ | tasmād gāvo mahābhāgāḥ pavitraṃ param ucyate ||
ヴァシシュタは言った。「大王よ、苦行(タパス)が成就したとき、牛たちは全世界の拠り所となり、支えとなった。ゆえに、その大いなる幸運を具えた牛たちは、至上に清浄であると宣言されるのだ。」
वसिष्ठ उवाच
The verse teaches that cows are to be regarded as supremely purifying because they function as the world’s refuge and support; reverence and protection of such life-sustaining beings is presented as a dharmic duty.
Vasiṣṭha addresses a king and explains, in the course of praising the religious-ethical importance of cows, that upon the completion of tapas (austerity), cows came to be viewed as the sustaining refuge of the world, hence their status as ‘supremely pure’.