Shloka 22
गोशकृन्माहात्म्य-प्रश्नः (On the Merit of Cow-Dung and the Abode of Śrī) / Inquiry into the Sanctity of Cow-Dung
गोमत्या विद्यया धेनुं तिलानामभिमन्त्रय यः । सर्वरत्नमयीं दद्यान्न स शोचेत् कृताकृते
bhīṣma uvāca |
gomatyā vidyayā dhenuṃ tilānām abhimantrya yaḥ |
sarvaratnamayīṃ dadyān na sa śocet kṛtākṛte ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Aquele que consagra, por meio da fórmula sagrada Gomati, uma ‘vaca de gergelim’ (a dádiva ritual de uma vaca feita de sementes de gergelim), descrita como dotada de toda sorte de joias, e então a doa a um brâmane, não se aflige pelo que fez ou deixou de fazer; pois o mérito dessa dádiva remove o remorso quanto aos atos auspiciosos e inauspiciosos.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that properly consecrated charitable giving—here, the ritual gift of a sesame-cow empowered by the Gomati mantra—can relieve a person from remorse and anxiety about past good and bad actions, emphasizing dana as a dharmic means of purification and inner peace.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he describes a specific meritorious rite: consecrating a tiladhenu with the Gomati formula and donating it (as a jewel-endowed gift) to a Brahmin, stating the spiritual result as freedom from grief regarding one’s deeds and omissions.