Shloka 44

गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्

Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows

Devanagari script

दत्त्वा धेनुं सुव्रतां साधुदोहां कल्याणवत्सामपलायिनीं च । यावन्ति रोमाणि भवन्ति तस्या- स्तावन्ति वर्षाणि भवन्त्यमुत्र,जो गौ सीधी-सूधी हो, सुगमतासे अच्छी तरह दूध दुहा लेती हो, जिसका बछड़ा भी सुन्दर हो तथा जो बन्धन तुड़ाकर भागनेवाली न हो, ऐसी गौका दान करनेसे उसके शरीरमें जितने रोएँ होते हैं, उतने वर्षोतक दाता परलोकमें सुख भोगता है

Transliteration

dattvā dhenuṃ suvratāṃ sādhudohāṃ kalyāṇavatsām apalāyinīṃ ca | yāvanti romāṇi bhavanti tasyās tāvanti varṣāṇi bhavanty amutra ||

Translation

ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു— സുവ്രതയായ, എളുപ്പത്തിൽ നന്നായി പാലുതരുന്ന, മനോഹരമായ കിടാവുള്ള, കെട്ട് പൊട്ടിച്ച് ഓടിപ്പോകാത്ത ധേനുവിനെ ദാനം ചെയ്യുന്നവൻ, അവളുടെ ദേഹത്തിലെ എത്ര രോമങ്ങളുണ്ടോ അത്ര വർഷം പരലോകത്തിൽ സുഖം അനുഭവിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

दत्त्वाhaving given

धेनुम्a cow

सुव्रताम्of good conduct/observance

साधु-दोहाम्easy to milk / yielding milk well

कल्याण-वत्साम्having a fine calf

अपलायिनीम्not running away / not prone to flee

चand

यावन्तिas many as

रोमाणिhairs (on the body)

भवन्तिare / exist

तस्याःof her (of that cow)

तावन्तिso many (that many)

वर्षाणिyears

भवन्तिare / become

अमुत्रthere (in the other world)

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma (Pitamah)

cow (dhenu)

calf (vatsa)

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 dāna: gifting a well-kept, useful, and non-troublesome cow is praised as a highly meritorious act, yielding prolonged happiness in the afterlife proportional to the cow’s hairs.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma and gifts (dāna-dharma), he specifies the ideal qualities of a cow suitable for donation and states the spiritual reward that accrues to the donor in the next world.