Shloka 30
Go-dāna-stuti and Ghṛta-Japa
Praise of cow-gift and ghee-centered recitation
इति नृप सतत गवां प्रदाने यवशकलान् सह गोमयै: पिबान: । क्षितितलशयन: शिखी यतात्मा वृष इव राजवृषस्तदा बभूव
iti nṛpa satataṃ gavāṃ pradāne yavaśakalān saha gomayaiḥ pibānaḥ | kṣititalaśayanaḥ śikhī yatātmā vṛṣa iva rājavṛṣas tadā babhūva, nareśvara! |
Sabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Kaya, O hari, si Yudhiṣṭhira—pinakamainam sa mga pinuno—ay laging nakatuon sa walang patid na pag-aalay ng mga baka. Nabubuhay siya sa kakaunting butil ng sebada na kinakain kasama ng dumi ng baka, natutulog sa hubad na lupa, at sa pagpipigil-sa-sarili ay hinayaang magmatsa ang kaniyang buhok. Sa panahong iyon, nagningning siya na wari’y ang Dharma mismo—gaya ng isang makapangyarihang toro sa hanay ng mga hari, matatag at dalisay.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights royal dharma expressed through sustained charity (especially go-dāna) and personal austerity: a ruler’s moral authority is strengthened by self-restraint, simplicity, and commitment to giving rather than indulgence.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes Yudhiṣṭhira’s disciplined way of life during this period: he is continually engaged in donating cows, eats only scant barley (even with cow-dung, emphasizing extreme simplicity), sleeps on the bare ground, grows matted hair, and is portrayed as shining like Dharma—‘a bull among kings.’