Shloka 9

Nārāyaṇopadeśa to Mārkaṇḍeya (Cosmic Self-Identification and Yuga Doctrine) | नारायणोपदेशः

Devanagari script

धेनुं दत्त्वा सुप्रभां सुप्रदोहां कल्याणवत्सामपलायिनीं च । यावन्ति रोमाणि भवन्ति तस्या- स्तावद्‌ वर्षाण्यासते देवलोके,जो अच्छे रंगकी हो, सुगमतासे दूध दुहा लेती हो, सुन्दर बछड़े देनेवाली हो और बन्धन तुड़ाकर भागनेवाली न हो, ऐसी गौका जो लोग दान करते हैं, वे गौके शरीरमें जितने रोएँ हों, उतने वर्षतक देवलोकमें निवास करते हैं

Transliteration

dhenuṁ dattvā suprabhāṁ supradohāṁ kalyāṇavatsām apalāyinīṁ ca | yāvanti romāṇi bhavanti tasyās tāvad varṣāṇy āsate devaloke ||

Translation

マールカンデーヤは言った。「毛並みが美しく、乳を搾りやすく、吉祥なる仔を産み、綱を断って逃げ出すことのない牛を施す者は、その牛の身にある毛の数ほどの年、神々の世界に住まう。」

Word by Word

धेनुम्a cow

दत्त्वाhaving given

सुप्रभाम्very lustrous/beautiful (in color)

सुप्रदोहाम्easy to milk / yielding milk well

कल्याणवत्साम्having an excellent calf / giving good calves

अपलायिनीम्not running away / not prone to flee

चand

यावन्तिas many as

रोमाणिhairs (on the body)

भवन्तिare / exist

तस्याःof her (of that cow)

तावद्so many / for that long

वर्षाणिyears

आसतेsit / dwell / reside

देवलोकेin the world of the gods (heaven)

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

cow (dhenu)

Devaloka

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches the dharmic value of go-dāna (donating a worthy cow). A gift is ethically meaningful when it is genuinely beneficial—healthy, productive, and manageable—bringing great religious merit, symbolized by long residence in Devaloka.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya is describing the फल (spiritual result) of a specific charitable act: donating a well-qualified cow. He quantifies the reward poetically—years in heaven equal to the number of hairs on the cow—emphasizing the greatness of this dāna.