Shloka 3
Go-mahātmyam: Pavitrāṇāṃ Pavitraṃ
Cows and Ghee as Supreme Purifiers
वैशम्पायन उवाच इत्युक्तो धर्मराजेन तदा शान्तनवो नृप: । सम्यगाह गुणांस्तस्मै गोप्रदानस्य केवलान्
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: ity ukto dharmarājena tadā śāntanavo nṛpaḥ | samyag āha guṇāṁs tasmai gopradānasya kevalān ||
ವೈಶಂಪಾಯನನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಧರ್ಮರಾಜ ಯುಧಿಷ್ಠಿರನು ಹೀಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದಾಗ, ಶಾಂತನವ ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಗೋಪ್ರದಾನಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ಗುಣಮಹಿಮೆಯನ್ನು ಸಮ್ಯಕವಾಗಿ, ಕ್ರಮಬದ್ಧವಾಗಿ ಅವನಿಗೆ ವಿವರಿಸಲು ಆರಂಭಿಸಿದನು।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames go-dāna (the gifting of cows) as a distinct dharmic act whose specific virtues are to be explained carefully; it highlights that ethical giving is not random but can be taught, categorized, and performed in a proper (samyak) manner.
After Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja) addresses him with a query, Bhīṣma—identified as Śāntanava—begins a focused exposition on the merits of cow-gifting, with Vaiśampāyana narrating this transition.