Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 74 Shloka 50 - Mahabharata | Malayalam | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 50

Phala of Vrata, Niyama, Svādhyāya, Dama, Satya, Brahmacarya, and Service (व्रत-नियम-स्वाध्याय-दम-सत्य-ब्रह्मचर्य-शुश्रूषा-फलप्रश्नः)

Devanagari script

देवव्रती स्याद्‌ वृषभप्रदानै- वेंदावाप्तिगोयुगस्य प्रदाने । तीर्थावाप्तिगों प्रयुक्तप्रदाने पापोत्सर्ग: कपिलाया: प्रदाने

Transliteration

nāciketa uvāca | devavratī syād vṛṣabhapradānaiḥ vedāvāptir goyugasya pradāne | tīrthāvāptir gāṃ prayuktapradāne pāpotsargaḥ kapilāyāḥ pradāne ||

Translation

നചികേതൻ പറഞ്ഞു— ഒരു കാളയെ ദാനം ചെയ്താൽ മനുഷ്യൻ ദേവസേവയിൽ ഭക്തനാകുന്നു. കാളകളുടെ ഒരു ജോഡി ദാനം ചെയ്താൽ വേദവിദ്യ ലഭിക്കുന്നു. ആ കാളകളെ കെട്ടിയ വണ്ടി/രഥം ദാനം ചെയ്താൽ തീർത്ഥസേവനഫലം ലഭിക്കുന്നു. കപിലാ (താമ്രവർണ്ണ) പശുവിനെ ദാനം ചെയ്താൽ സർവ്വപാപങ്ങളും വിട്ടൊഴിയും.

Word by Word

देवव्रतीdevoted to the gods / one who has a divine vow

स्यात्would become / should be

वृषभप्रदानैःby (the) gifts of bulls

वेदावाप्तिःattainment of the Veda(s)

गोयुगस्यof a pair of oxen/cattle (a yoke-pair)

प्रदानेin/at the giving (upon donation)

तीर्थावाप्तिःattainment of (the fruit of) pilgrimage / holy places

गःa cow

प्रयुक्तप्रदानेupon giving (a cart/vehicle) yoked/used (with oxen)

पापोत्सर्गःabandonment/removal of sins

कपिलायाःof a tawny cow (kapilā)

प्रदानेupon donation

Speaker

नाचिकेत उवाच

Characters & Entities

Naciketa

bull (vṛṣabha)

pair of bulls (goyuga)

yoked cart/vehicle (implied by prayukta)

Veda

tīrtha (pilgrimage sites)

kapilā cow

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches a graded ethic of dāna: giving useful, life-supporting resources (cattle and what they enable) is a dharmic act that yields corresponding spiritual fruits—devotional orientation, access to sacred learning, pilgrimage-merit, and purification from sin.

What is happening in the narrative?

Naciketa is enumerating the specific merits (phala) associated with different bovine-related gifts—one bull, a pair of bulls, a yoked conveyance, and a kapilā cow—presenting them as authoritative guidance on charitable conduct within Anuśāsana Parva’s broader instruction on dharma.