Shloka 11
Go-dāna-stuti and Ghṛta-Japa
Praise of cow-gift and ghee-centered recitation
गावो ममैन: प्रणुदन्तु सौर्या- स्तथा सौम्या: स्वर्गयानाय सनन््तु । आत्मानं मे मातृवच्चा श्रयन्तु यथानुक्ता: सन्तु सर्वाशिषो मे
gāvo mamainaḥ praṇudantu sauryās tathā saumyāḥ svargayānāya sanantu | ātmānaṃ me mātṛvac cāśrayantu yathānuktāḥ santu sarvāśiṣo me ||
Sinabi ni Bhishma: “Nawa’y ang mga baka—na nahayag mula sa bahagi ng Araw at ng Buwan—ay magtaboy ng aking kasalanan. Nawa’y tulungan nila ang aking paglalakbay tungo sa langit at sa iba pang mararangal na daigdig. Nawa’y bigyan nila ako ng kanlungan na gaya ng isang ina. At sa biyaya ng Inang-Baka, nawa’y matupad ang lahat ng aking pagpapala at hangarin—maging yaong binanggit sa mga mantrang ito at yaong hindi nabanggit.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents the cow as a sacred refuge and a source of purification: honoring and seeking the grace of cows is portrayed as dispelling moral demerit (enaḥ), supporting auspicious destiny (svarga-yāna), and fulfilling both expressed and unexpressed righteous wishes.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction (Anuśāsana Parva), he utters a prayer/benediction invoking cows—linked symbolically to the Sun and Moon—to remove sin, grant maternal protection, and aid his (and by extension the listener’s) attainment of higher worlds and desired blessings.