Shloka 6
Go-mahātmyam: Pavitrāṇāṃ Pavitraṃ
Cows and Ghee as Supreme Purifiers
जरारोगोपसम्पन्नां जीर्णा वापीमिवाजलाम् | दत्त्वा तम: प्रविशति द्विजं क्लेशेन योजयेत्
jarārogopasampannāṁ jīrṇā vāpīm ivājalām | dattvā tamaḥ praviśati dvijaṁ kleśena yojayet ||
ພີສະມະກ່າວວ່າ: «ຜູ້ໃດໃຫ້ທານໂຄທີ່ຖືກຄວາມເຖົ້າແລະໂລກໄພຄອບງຳ—ຊຳຮຸດເຫມືອນບໍ່ນ້ຳທີ່ແຫ້ງແລະພັງ—ຜູ້ນັ້ນຕົກລົງສູ່ຄວາມມືດ (ນະລົກອັນນ່າຢ້ານ). ຂອງທານແບບນັ້ນມີແຕ່ເພີ່ມພາລະໃຫ້ພຣາຫມັນຜູ້ຮັບ. ດັ່ງນັ້ນ ທານຕ້ອງເໝາະສົມແລະເປັນປະໂຫຍດ; ການໃຫ້ຂອງທີ່ໄຮ້ຄ່າຫຼືເຮັດໃຫ້ລຳບາກ ບໍ່ແມ່ນບຸນແທ້ ແຕ່ເປັນເຫດແຫ່ງບາບ.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity must be appropriate and beneficial. Donating something useless—like a cow ruined by age and disease—does not create merit; it harms the recipient and leads the giver toward demerit and a ‘dark’ fate.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dāna-dharma, he warns that giving a decrepit, diseased cow is ethically wrong because it imposes hardship on the brāhmaṇa recipient; such a ‘gift’ is condemned and said to lead to darkness/hell.