Shloka 17
Suvarṇa-dāna: Kārttikeya’s Origin and the Defeat of Tāraka (सुवर्णदान-प्रसङ्गे कार्त्तिकेय-उत्पत्ति तथा तारकवधः)
यज्ञांगं कथिता गावो यज्ञ एव च वासव । एताभिश्न विना यज्ञो न वर्तेत कथंचन
yajñāṅgaṃ kathitā gāvo yajña eva ca vāsava | etābhiḥ na vinā yajño na varteta kathaṃcana ||
“Ó Vāsava (Indra), declara-se que as vacas são um membro essencial do sacrifício—na verdade, o próprio sacrifício—pois sem elas nenhum yajña pode prosseguir de modo algum.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cows are presented as indispensable to yajña and thus to the maintenance of dharma, since key ritual offerings depend on cow-derived substances; protecting and honoring them is framed as ethically and religiously significant.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction within the Anuśāsana Parva, he addresses Vāsava (Indra) and emphasizes the ritual centrality of cows, arguing that sacrifice cannot be properly performed without them.