Shloka 12
Chapter 84: Brahmā’s Counsel on Tāraka, the Search for Agni, and the Genesis of Skanda
Kārttikeya
व्यास उवाच गाव: प्रतिष्ठा भूतानां तथा गाव: परायणम् । गाव: पुण्या: पवित्राश्व गोधनं पावनं तथा
vyāsa uvāca gāvaḥ pratiṣṭhā bhūtānāṃ tathā gāvaḥ parāyaṇam | gāvaḥ puṇyāḥ pavitrāś ca godhanaṃ pāvanaṃ tathā ||
ヴィヤーサは言った。「牛は生きとし生けるものの拠りどころであり、また究極の避難処でもある。牛は功徳に満ち、清めをもたらす。牛の富（ゴーダナ）もまた清める力を持つ。」
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that cows and cattle-wealth are to be regarded as sustaining and purifying, supporting life and dharmic order; honoring and protecting them is presented as ethically and religiously meritorious.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused setting, Vyāsa speaks in praise of cows, framing them as a universal support for beings and as a source of purity and merit, reinforcing norms of dharma related to protection and reverence.