Shloka 16
Go-apahāra (Cattle Theft), Go-dāna (Cow-Gift), and Suvarṇa-dakṣiṇā (Gold Fee): Karmic Consequence and Purificatory Merit
कृतं च भरते सा गौर्मम पुत्रमपस्तनम् | न सा शक््या मया दातुमित्युक्त्वा स जगाम ह
kṛtaṃ ca bharate sā gaur mama putram apastanam | na sā śakyā mayā dātuṃ ity uktvā sa jagāma ha |
“हे भरता! ही गाय माझ्या मातृहीन पुत्राचे आपल्या दुधाने दररोज पालन करते; म्हणून मी तिला देऊ शकत नाही.” असे बोलून तो ती गाय घेऊन निघून गेला.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not merely formal charity; it includes gratitude and the protection of those who have become dependents. A gift is unethical if it harms a vulnerable being or violates one’s responsibility toward a benefactor.
A man explains to Bharata that a particular cow daily nourishes his motherless child with her milk; therefore he refuses to give the cow away and leaves, taking her with him.