Shloka 14
Nārāyaṇopadeśa to Mārkaṇḍeya (Cosmic Self-Identification and Yuga Doctrine) | नारायणोपदेशः
स्वकर्मभिर्दानवसंनिरुद्धे तीव्रान्धकारे नरके सम्पतन्तम् । महार्णवे नौरिव वातयुक्ता दानं गवां तारयते परत्र,जो सोनेके बने हुए सुन्दर सींग, काँसके दुग्धपात्र, द्रव्य तथा ओढ़नेके वस्त्र और दक्षिणासहित तिलकी धेनुका ब्राह्मणको दान करता है, उसके लिये वसुओंके लोक सुलभ हो जाते हैं। जैसे महासागरमें डूबते हुए मनुष्यको अनुकूल वायुके सहयोगसे चलनेवाली नाव बचा लेती है, उसी प्रकार जो अपने कर्मोद्वारा काम, क्रोध आदि दानवोंसे घिरे हुए घोर अज्ञानान्धकारसे परिपूर्ण नरकमें गिर रहा है, उसे गोदानजनित पुण्य परलोकमें उबार लेता है
svakarmabhir dānavasaṃniruddhe tīvrāndhakāre narake sampatantam | mahārṇave naur iva vātayuktā dānaṃ gavāṃ tārayate paratra ||
Disse Mārkaṇḍeya: Quando uma pessoa, cercada pelos “demônios” nascidos de seus próprios atos, está a precipitar-se no inferno de trevas ferozes, o dom de vacas a resgata no além—assim como um barco, impelido por vento favorável, salva quem se afoga no grande oceano.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charitable giving—specifically go-dāna (the gift of cows)—is presented as a powerful dharmic act whose merit can ‘carry’ a person beyond the consequences of harmful karma, rescuing him from the darkness of ignorance and the suffering of the hereafter.
Mārkaṇḍeya is instructing his listeners through a vivid simile: a person sinking in a vast ocean is saved by a wind-driven boat; likewise, a person falling toward naraka due to self-made karmic forces is saved in the next world by the पुण्य (merit) generated from gifting cows.