Gavāṃ Māhātmya — Go-dāna, Yajña-ādhāra, and Goloka
Brahmā–Indra–Surabhi Itihāsa
तपसोअ<न्ते महाराज गावो लोकपरायणा: । तस्माद् गावो महाभागा: पवित्र परमुच्यते
Vasiṣṭha uvāca: tapasānte mahārāja gāvo lokaparāyaṇāḥ | tasmād gāvo mahābhāgāḥ pavitraṃ param ucyate ||
വസിഷ്ഠൻ പറഞ്ഞു—മഹാരാജാവേ, തപസ്സിന്റെ സമാപ്തിയിൽ ഗാവുകൾ സർവ്വലോകത്തിന്റെയും ആശ്രയവും ധാരണാശക്തിയും ആയി. അതുകൊണ്ട് ആ മഹാഭാഗ്യവതികളായ ഗാവുകൾ പരമപവിത്രമെന്ന് പ്രസിദ്ധമാണ്.
वसिष्ठ उवाच
The verse teaches that cows are to be regarded as supremely purifying because they function as the world’s refuge and support; reverence and protection of such life-sustaining beings is presented as a dharmic duty.
Vasiṣṭha addresses a king and explains, in the course of praising the religious-ethical importance of cows, that upon the completion of tapas (austerity), cows came to be viewed as the sustaining refuge of the world, hence their status as ‘supremely pure’.