Shloka 35
गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्
Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows
यश्चात्मविक्रयं कृत्वा गा: क्रीत्वा सम्प्रयच्छति । यावत् संदर्शयेद् गां वै स तावत् फलमश्लुते
yaścātmavikrayaṁ kṛtvā gāḥ krītvā samprayacchati | yāvat saṁdarśayed gāṁ vai sa tāvat phalam aśnute ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Kahit ang taong naipagbili ang sarili sa pagkaalipin, kung siya’y bibili ng mga baka at ipamamahagi bilang kaloob, tatamasahin niya ang di-nauubos na bunga ng handog na iyon hangga’t nasasaksihan pa niya ang pag-iral ng lahi ng baka sa sansinukob.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that donating cows is considered an exceptionally powerful act of dharma: even if someone must sell himself to obtain the means, the merit of giving cows is said to yield an enduring, seemingly inexhaustible reward.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on duties and gifts. Here he praises go-dāna by stating that a donor who buys cows—even at the cost of self-sale—enjoys the fruit of that charity for as long as the cow-kind continues to be seen in the world.