Shloka 80
यो गोशतं कनकश्ड्रमयं ददाति विप्राय वेदविदुषे च बहुश्रुताय । दिव्यां च भारतकथां कथयेच्च नित्यं तुल्यं फलं भवति तस्य च तस्य चैव
bhīṣma uvāca | yo gośataṁ kanakaśṛṅgamayaṁ dadāti viprāya vedaviduṣe ca bahuśrutāya | divyāṁ ca bhāratakathāṁ kathayec ca nityaṁ tulyaṁ phalaṁ bhavati tasya ca tasya caiva ||
Sinabi ni Bhishma: Ang sinumang maghandog sa isang marunong na Brahmin—nakaaalam ng mga Veda at malawak ang pag-aaral—ng isang daang baka na ang mga sungay ay binalutan ng ginto, at ang sinumang araw-araw na nagpapaliwanag ng banal na salaysay ng Mahabharata—kapwa tumatamo ng iisang bunga ng kabutihang-loob. Ang aral: ang patuloy na pagpapasa ng dakilang kasulatan na nag-aangat ng diwa ay maaaring tumumbas kahit sa marangyang kawanggawang pang-ritwal.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse equates two sources of merit: lavish charitable giving to a truly learned Vedic Brahmin and the daily, faithful expounding of the sacred Mahabharata narrative. It emphasizes that preserving and transmitting dharmic teaching through regular discourse can be as spiritually efficacious as expensive ritual charity.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anushasana Parva), he praises both material generosity and the ongoing teaching of sacred tradition. He states that donating a hundred cows with gold-adorned horns to a learned Brahmin and daily narrating the divine Bhārata yield the same religious merit.