Shloka 51

गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्

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

Devanagari script

मम लोके सुरै: सार्थ लोके यत्रापि चेच्छति

Transliteration

mama loke suraiḥ sārthaṃ loke yatrāpi cecchati | śatakrato! yo manuṣya uparyukta-vidhinā vane vasann gāṃ anusarati tathā niḥspṛhaḥ saṃyamī ca pavitraś ca tṛṇa-patra-gomaya-bhakṣaṇena jīvanaṃ nayati, sa manasi kāmanā-śūnye sati mama loke devaiḥ saha ānandena nivāsam āpnoti | athavā yatra yatra icchati tatra tatra lokān gacchati ||

Translation

Bhīṣma berkata: “Di alamku, bersama para dewa, dia berdiam dengan sukacita. Wahai Śatakratu (Indra), lelaki yang menurut disiplin yang telah dinyatakan, tinggal di rimba, mengikuti lembu-lembu, dan kekal tanpa hasrat, menahan diri serta suci—menyara hidup dengan rumput, daun dan tahi lembu—apabila fikirannya bebas daripada keinginan, mencapai alamku dan hidup bahagia di sana bersama para dewa. Atau, ke mana sahaja dia berkehendak, ke alam itulah dia pergi.”

Word by Word

• मम: of me / my
• मम: सम्बन्ध
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• लोके: in (my) world
• लोके: अधिकारण
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• सुरैः: with the gods
• सुरैः: सह/साकं (सहकारक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• सार्थम्: together with
• सार्थम्: सह/साकं (सहकारक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सार्थम्

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: अधिकारण
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: अधिकारण
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र

• अपि: also / even
• अपि: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• च: and
• च: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• इच्छति: wishes / desires
• इच्छति: क्रिया
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष् (इच्छ्)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथम, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha)
• Indra (Śatakratu)
• surāḥ (gods/deities)
• gāvaḥ (cows)
• vana (forest)
• mama loka (Bhīṣma’s realm/heavenly world)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Austerity joined with purity, self-restraint, and freedom from desire—especially expressed through devoted service to cows and forest-discipline—yields exalted post-mortem attainments: joyful residence among the gods or access to desired higher realms.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, speaking as Pitāmaha, addresses Indra (Śatakratu) while describing the फल (result) of a specific cow-centered ascetic vow: living in the forest, following cows, and subsisting on simple, austere fare. He states the spiritual reward in terms of reaching ‘his world’ with the gods or traveling to chosen worlds.