Shloka 2

Go-mahātmyam: Pavitrāṇāṃ Pavitraṃ

Cows and Ghee as Supreme Purifiers

Devanagari script

युधिछिर उवाच गोप्रदानगुणान्‌ सम्यक्‌ पुनर्मे ब्रूहि भारत । न हि तृप्याम्यहं वीर शृण्वानो$मृतमीदृशम्‌

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | gopradānaguṇān samyak punar me brūhi bhārata | na hi tṛpyāmy ahaṃ vīra śṛṇvāno 'mṛtam īdṛśam ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Ó Bhārata, torna a dizer-me—com clareza e por completo—as virtudes e os méritos da doação de vacas. Pois, ó herói, ao ouvir um ensinamento tão semelhante ao néctar, não me sinto saciado; meu desejo de escutá-lo apenas cresce.”

Word by Word

• {'yudhiṣṭhira uvāca': 'Yudhiṣṭhira said', 'go-pradāna': 'the gifting/donation of cows', 'guṇān': 'qualities, virtues, merits (accusative plural)', 'samyak': 'properly, correctly, thoroughly', 'punar': 'again, once more', 'me': 'to me, for me', 'brūhi': 'tell (imperative, 2nd person singular)', 'bhārata': 'O Bhārata

• descendant of Bharata (a form of address)', 'na hi': 'indeed not

• certainly not', 'tṛpyāmi': 'I am satisfied

• I feel content', 'ahaṃ': 'I', 'vīra': 'O hero, O valiant one (vocative)', 'śṛṇvānaḥ': 'listening, hearing (present participle)', 'amṛtam': 'nectar

• deathless, ambrosial (figuratively: supremely wholesome teaching)', 'īdṛśam': 'such as this, of this kind'}

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Bhārata (addressee)
• go (cow, as the object of donation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the dharmic value of go-dāna (donating cows) and portrays an ideal student’s attitude: repeated, attentive listening to ethical instruction is itself a virtue, because such teachings are ‘amṛta’—life-giving and spiritually nourishing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira, eager for dharma, addresses the speaker as ‘Bhārata’ and requests a clearer, repeated explanation of the merits of cow-gifting. He says he is not yet satisfied, indicating deep reverence and sustained curiosity for teachings on charity and righteous conduct.