Shloka 22
Cyavana’s Yogic Display and Kuśika’s Recognition of Tapas (च्यवन-योगप्रभावः कुशिकस्य तपःप्रशंसा च)
(ब्राह्मणानां गवां चैव कुलमेकं द्विधा कृतम् । एकत्र मन्त्रास्तिष्ठन्ति हविरन्यत्र तिष्ठतति ।।
bhīṣma uvāca |
brāhmaṇānāṃ gavāṃ caiva kulam ekaṃ dvidhā kṛtam |
ekatra mantrās tiṣṭhanti havir anyatra tiṣṭhati ||
anarghyā mahārāja dvijā varṇeṣu cottamāḥ |
gāvaś ca puruṣavyāghra gaur mūlyaṃ parikalpyatām ||
Sabi ni Bhishma: “O Hari, iisa ang angkan ng mga Brahmin at ng mga baka, bagaman wari’y nahati sa dalawang anyo: sa isang dako nananahan ang mga banal na mantra, at sa kabila naman nananahan ang havis—ang handog na alay. O tigre sa mga tao, ang mga dwija ang pinakamataas sa lahat ng uri at hindi matutumbasan ng halaga; gayundin ang mga baka, hindi rin masukat ang halaga. Kaya itakda ang isang baka bilang kanilang ‘halaga’—hindi bilang tunay na sukatan ng dangal, kundi bilang nararapat na tanda ng paggalang sa pagbibigay.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Brahmins and cows are presented as intrinsically sacred and ‘priceless’: Brahmins embody the Vedic mantras, while cows embody the sacrificial offering (havis). Since their worth cannot be truly measured, any ‘price’ is only a symbolic honor—hence the stipulation of giving a cow as an appropriate token in acts of giving and reverence.
Bhishma is instructing the king on dharma related to honoring Brahmins and cows. He frames them as two manifestations of a single sacred lineage—mantra and oblation—then advises that, though beyond valuation, a cow may be fixed as the conventional token of value in the context of gifts and ritual propriety.