Shloka 13
गोमहात्म्य-प्रश्नोत्तरम्
Saudāsa–Vasiṣṭha on the Purifying Power of Cows
भीष्म उवाच एतत् पितामहेनोक्तमिन्द्राय भरतर्षभ । इन्द्रो दशरथायाह रामायाह पिता तथा,प्रभो! श्रीरामचन्द्रजीने भी अपने प्रिय एवं यशस्वी भ्राता लक्ष्मणको इसका उपदेश दिया। फिर लक्ष्मणने भी वनवासके समय ऋषियोंको यह बात बतायी ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | etat pitāmahenoktam indrāya bharatarṣabha | indro daśarathāyāha rāmāyāha pitā tathā | prabho śrīrāmacandro 'pi svapriyaṃ yaśasvinaṃ bhrātaraṃ lakṣmaṇaṃ tad upadiśya | lakṣmaṇo 'pi vanavāse ṛṣibhya etad avadat || pāramparyagataṃ cedaṃ ṛṣayaḥ saṃśitavratāḥ | durdharaṃ dhārayāmāsu rājānaś caiva dhārmikāḥ ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “O bantayog ng angkan ng Bharata, ang aral na ito’y sinabi ng Pitamaha (Brahma) kay Indra; ipinasa ni Indra kay Dasharatha, at ang ama naman ay naghatid nito kay Rama. Si Panginoong Shri Ramachandra mismo’y nagturo nito sa minamahal at tanyag na kapatid na si Lakshmana; at si Lakshmana, sa panahon ng pagkatapon sa gubat, ay ipinahayag ito sa mga rishi. Kaya, sa pamamagitan ng di-napapatid na pagmamana, ang disiplinang mahirap panatilihin na ito’y iningatan ng mga pantas na matitibay ang panata at ng mga haring matuwid sa dharma.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the authority and seriousness of a dharmic discipline by grounding it in paramparā (a trusted lineage of transmission). Because it is ‘durdhara’—hard to sustain—it gains weight precisely through being upheld by exemplary sages of firm vows and righteous kings.
Bhishma, instructing the listener, traces how a particular counsel was handed down: from the Grandsire to Indra, from Indra to King Dasharatha, from Dasharatha to Rama, from Rama to Lakshmana, and from Lakshmana to sages during the forest-exile—showing an unbroken chain of ethical instruction.