Shloka 33
Phala of Vrata, Niyama, Svādhyāya, Dama, Satya, Brahmacarya, and Service (व्रत-नियम-स्वाध्याय-दम-सत्य-ब्रह्मचर्य-शुश्रूषा-फलप्रश्नः)
दत्त्वा धेनुं सुव्रतां कांस्यदोहां कल्याणवत्सामपलायिनीं च । यावन्ति रोमाणि भवन्ति तस्या- स्तावद् वर्षाण्यश्रुते स्वर्गलोकम्
bhīṣma uvāca | dattvā dhenuṃ suvratāṃ kāṃsyadohāṃ kalyāṇavatsām apalāyinīṃ ca | yāvanti romāṇi bhavanti tasyās tāvad varṣāṇy aśnute svargalokam ||
भीष्म म्हणाले—उत्तम शील-स्वभावाची, कांस्याच्या दुग्धपात्रासह, चांगल्या बछड्यासह, पळून न जाणारी आणि दुधारू धेनू दान केल्यास, त्या गायीच्या अंगावर जितके केस आहेत तितकी वर्षे दाता स्वर्गलोकात आनंद भोगतो.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dāna, when done thoughtfully—giving a useful, complete gift (a good milch-cow with calf and milking vessel) and ensuring it is suitable and manageable—produces vast spiritual merit, symbolized by long enjoyment of Svarga.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (especially gifts and their fruits), he describes the reward for gifting a well-qualified cow: the donor attains heavenly enjoyment for a duration poetically measured by the number of hairs on the cow’s body.