Shloka 37
गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्
Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows
अभावे यो गवां दद्यात् तिलधेनुं यतव्रत: । दुर्गात् स तारितो थेन्वा क्षीरनद्यां प्रमोदते
abhāve yo gavāṁ dadyāt tiladhenuṁ yatavrataḥ | durgāt sa tārito dhenuvā kṣīranadyāṁ pramodate ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Ang taong may pagpipigil-sa-sarili at tapat sa mga panata, kung sa kakulangan ng tunay na baka ay maghandog ng ‘tiladhenu’ (bakang yari sa linga), sa bisa at tulong ng gantimpala ng handog na iyon ay maililigtas siya sa mahirap at mapanganib na mga pagsubok, at magagalak sa pampang ng ilog na umaagos ng gatas.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when ideal resources are unavailable, a disciplined person should still uphold dāna-dharma through an appropriate substitute; sincere charity, performed with restraint and right intention, becomes a means of protection from संकट and yields auspicious posthumous reward.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on gifts and धर्म, he explains the फल (result) of donating a tiladhenu when cows cannot be obtained: the donor is metaphorically ‘carried across’ dangers by that merit and attains a blissful realm symbolized by a river of milk.