Shloka 9
गवां लोकवर्णनं तथा गोप्रदानफलश्रुतिः
Description of the ‘World of Cows’ and the Stated Fruits of Cow-Gift
प्रचोदनं देवकृतं गवां कर्मसु वर्तताम् । पूर्वमेवाक्षरं चान्यदभिधेयं तत: परम्,देवताओंने भी यज्ञके लिये भूमि जोतते समय बैलोंको डंडे आदिसे हाँका था। अतः पहले यज्ञके लिये ही बैलोंको जोतना या हाँकना श्रेयस्कर माना गया है। उससे भिन्न कर्मके लिये बैलोंको जोतना या डंडे आदिसे हाँकना निन्दनीय है
bhīṣma uvāca | pracodanaṃ devakṛtaṃ gavāṃ karmasu vartatām | pūrvam evākṣaraṃ cānyad abhidhēyaṃ tataḥ param |
Bhishma disse: “O ato de instigá-las foi primeiro instituído pelos deuses para o gado empenhado em obra sagrada. Portanto, a regra primordial é esta: atrelar e conduzir bois em favor do sacrifício é louvável; mas atrelar ou bater e impeli-los para outros fins, não sacrificiais, é censurável.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma distinguishes between sanctioned and unsanctioned use of force toward animals: driving/yoking cattle is justified only within divinely sanctioned sacrificial duty, while doing so for other ends is blameworthy.
In his instruction on dharma, Bhishma explains the origin and proper scope of goading cattle: the gods first employed it for sacrificial work, establishing a precedent that limits such treatment to ritual necessity.