Mahabharata 3.201.70 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 70
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
अन्तरिक्षगतो वत्सो यावद् योन्यां प्रदृश्यते । तावत् गौ पृथिवी ज्ञेया यावद् गर्भ न मुडचति
antarikṣagato vatsaḥ yāvad yonyāṁ pradṛśyate | tāvat gauḥ pṛthivī jñeyā yāvad garbhaṁ na muñcati ||
प्रसवकाळी वासरू जणू आकाशात लटकलेले दिसत असेपर्यंत आणि गाय गर्भ पूर्णपणे वेगळा करून सोडत नाही तोपर्यंत, त्या गायीला पृथ्वीस्वरूपच मानावे।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches heightened reverence and protection for a cow during the vulnerable moment of calving: until the calf is fully separated, the cow is to be treated as sacred as the Earth itself—implying restraint from harm, disturbance, or any act that would endanger mother or offspring.
Yudhiṣṭhira states a dharma-rule using a vivid image of birth: while the calf is still partly within the womb and appears suspended as it emerges, the cow is to be regarded as ‘Earth-form,’ underscoring her sanctity and the duty of careful protection at that time.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.