Shloka 42

गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्

Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows

Devanagari script

बलान्विता: शीलवयोपपन्ना: सर्वा: प्रशंसन्ते सुगन्धवत्य: । यथा हि गंगा सरितां वरिष्ठा तथार्जुनीनां कपिला वरिष्ठा

Transliteration

balānvitāḥ śīlavayopapannāḥ sarvāḥ praśaṃsante sugandhavatyaḥ | yathā hi gaṅgā saritāṃ variṣṭhā tathārjunīnāṃ kapilā variṣṭhā ||

Translation

భీష్ముడు పలికెను—బలసంపన్నమైనవి, శీలవంతమైనవి, యౌవనసంపదతో ఉన్నవి—ఇలాంటి గోవులన్నీ సుగంధమయమైనవిగా, ఉత్తమమైనవిగా ప్రశంసింపబడతాయి. నదులలో గంగా శ్రేష్ఠమైనట్లే, అర్జునీ గోవులలో కపిలా శ్రేష్ఠం.

Word by Word

बलान्विताःendowed with strength

शीलवयोपपन्नाःpossessed of good conduct and youth

सर्वाःall

प्रशंसन्तेpraise

सुगन्धवत्यःfragrant (ones)

यथाjust as

हिindeed

गङ्गाGanga

सरिताम्of rivers

वरिष्ठाthe best / foremost

तथाso / likewise

अर्जुनीनाम्of the Arjunis (women of Arjuna’s line/name)

कपिलाKapilā (a woman named Kapilā)

वरिष्ठाthe best / foremost

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma (Pitamaha)

Ganga

Kapila

Arjuni cows

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma highlights standards of excellence in gifts and virtues: just as the Gaṅgā is held supreme among rivers, a superior cow (Kapilā among the Arjunī line) is praised as an ideal for righteous giving and merit-oriented conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma is describing and praising exemplary cows—strong, well-behaved, youthful, and even ‘fragrant’—and singles out Kapilā as the foremost among the Arjunī cows, using the Gaṅgā as a comparison for supremacy.