Shloka 19
Go-dāna-stuti and Ghṛta-Japa
Praise of cow-gift and ghee-centered recitation
गा वै दत्त्वा गोव्रती स्यात् त्रिरात्रं निशां चैकां संवसेतेह ताभि: । कामाष्ट म्यां वर्तितव्यं त्रिरात्रं रसैर्वा गो: शकृता प्रस्नवैर्वा
gā vai dattvā govratī syāt trirātraṃ niśāṃ caikāṃ saṃvaset iha tābhiḥ | kāmāṣṭamyāṃ vartitavyaṃ trirātraṃ rasair vā goḥ śakṛtā prasnavair vā ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Pagkatapos magbigay ng isang baka bilang kawanggawa, dapat isagawa ang ‘panatang-baka’ sa loob ng tatlong gabi, at dito rin ay dapat mamalagi ng isang gabi kasama ng mga baka. Mula sa Kāma-aṣṭamī, sa loob ng tatlong gabi, dapat mabuhay lamang sa mga produkto ng baka—gatas/katas nito, dumi nito, o ihi nito—sa gayong paraan isinasagawa ang mahigpit at nagpapadalisay na pagpipigil na kaugnay ng handog.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links charity (giving a cow) with disciplined follow-through: the donor should undertake a short vow marked by restraint, purity, and proximity to the gifted/holy object (living with cows), showing that ethical giving is completed by self-control and reverent conduct.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma and gifts, he prescribes the procedure after cow-gift: observe a three-night govrata, spend one night among cows, and from Kāma-aṣṭamī maintain a restricted diet consisting only of cow-derived substances.