Phala of Vrata, Niyama, Svādhyāya, Dama, Satya, Brahmacarya, and Service (व्रत-नियम-स्वाध्याय-दम-सत्य-ब्रह्मचर्य-शुश्रूषा-फलप्रश्नः)
देवव्रती स्याद् वृषभप्रदानै- वेंदावाप्तिगोयुगस्य प्रदाने । तीर्थावाप्तिगों प्रयुक्तप्रदाने पापोत्सर्ग: कपिलाया: प्रदाने
nāciketa uvāca | devavratī syād vṛṣabhapradānaiḥ vedāvāptir goyugasya pradāne | tīrthāvāptir gāṃ prayuktapradāne pāpotsargaḥ kapilāyāḥ pradāne ||
Naciketa disse: “Ao doar um touro, a pessoa torna-se devotada ao serviço dos deuses. Ao doar um par de touros, alcança acesso ao conhecimento védico. Ao doar uma carroça atrelada a esses touros, obtém o mérito de visitar os lugares sagrados de peregrinação. E ao doar uma vaca kapilā (de cor fulva), livra-se dos pecados.”
नाचिकेत उवाच
The verse teaches a graded ethic of dāna: giving useful, life-supporting resources (cattle and what they enable) is a dharmic act that yields corresponding spiritual fruits—devotional orientation, access to sacred learning, pilgrimage-merit, and purification from sin.
Naciketa is enumerating the specific merits (phala) associated with different bovine-related gifts—one bull, a pair of bulls, a yoked conveyance, and a kapilā cow—presenting them as authoritative guidance on charitable conduct within Anuśāsana Parva’s broader instruction on dharma.