Shloka 51
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
जो मनुष्य गायकी पीठ छूता और उसकी पूँछको नमस्कार करता है, वह मानो उपर्युक्त तीर्थोमें तीन दिनतक उपवासपूर्वक रहकर स्नान कर लेता है ।।
yo manuṣyo gāyakyāḥ pīṭhaṃ spṛśati tasyāś ca pucchaṃ namaskaroti sa manye uparyukteṣu tīrtheṣu tridinopavāsapūrvakaṃ snānaṃ kṛtavān bhavati || tato vidyutprabho vākyam abhyabhāṣata vāsavam | ayaṃ sūkṣmataro dharmas taṃ nibodha śatakrato ||
Śakra (Indra) declara: “Aquele que toca o lugar de repouso da vaca e se inclina em saudação à sua cauda obtém mérito como se tivesse jejuado por três dias e se banhado nos vaus sagrados mencionados antes.” Então Vidyutprabha dirige-se a Vāsava (Indra): “Este é um ponto de dharma ainda mais sutil—compreende-o bem, ó Śatakratu.”
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that simple acts of reverence toward the cow—touching her resting-place and bowing to her tail—are credited with merit comparable to demanding pilgrimage austerities (three days of fasting and bathing at sacred tīrthas). It also hints that dharma includes subtle, inwardly oriented principles beyond external ritual.
Indra (Śakra/Vāsava/Śatakratu) states the spiritual fruit of honoring the cow in a specific way. Immediately afterward, Vidyutprabha speaks to Indra, indicating that an even more nuanced explanation of dharma is to follow.