Shloka 47
गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्
Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows
अश्वमेधक्रतोस्तुल्यं फलं भवति शाश्वतम् । मृत्युकाले सहस्राक्ष यां वृत्तिमनुकाड्क्षते
aśvamedhakratostulyaṃ phalaṃ bhavati śāśvatam | mṛtyukāle sahasrākṣa yāṃ vṛttim anukāṅkṣate ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “O Sahasrākṣa (Indra), nakakamit niya ang walang-kupas na bunga na katulad ng sa sakripisyong Aśvamedha. At sa oras ng kamatayan, anumang kalagayang minimithi niya, iyon din ang kanyang matatamo.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links ethical-spiritual attainment with two ideas: (1) a certain practice yields imperishable merit comparable to the prestigious Aśvamedha, and (2) the mind’s final aspiration at death is decisive—one reaches the state one intensely longs for at that moment.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha) is delivering a didactic statement addressed to Indra (Sahasrākṣa), praising the enduring fruit of a particular dharmic course and emphasizing the power of one’s last desire at the time of death.