Shloka 7
Go-dāna-stuti and Ghṛta-Japa
Praise of cow-gift and ghee-centered recitation
गौर्मे माता वृषभ: पिता मे दिवं शर्म जगती मे प्रतिष्ठा । प्रपद्यैवं शर्वरीमुष्य गोषु पुनर्वाणीमुत्सूजेद् गोप्रदाने
bhīṣma uvāca | gaur me mātā vṛṣabhaḥ pitā me divaṃ śarma jagatī me pratiṣṭhā | prapadyaivaṃ śarvarīm uṣya goṣu punar vāṇīm utsṛjed gopradāne ||
Sinabi ni Bhishma: “Ang baka ang aking ina; ang toro (vṛṣabha) ang aking ama. Nawa’y ipagkaloob nila sa akin ang langit at kaginhawahan sa daigdig; ang baka ang aking pinakapundasyon.” Pagkasabi nito, dapat sumilong sa gitna ng mga baka at magpalipas ng gabi kasama nila sa pananahimik; at sa umaga, sa oras mismo ng pag-aalay ng baka, saka lamang basagin ang katahimikan at magsalita—upang simulan ang go-dāna nang may paggalang at pagpipigil.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames reverence for cattle—especially the cow—as a dharmic foundation and links charity (go-dāna) with inner discipline: humility, refuge-seeking, and a vow of silence that is broken only at the sacred moment of giving.
Bhishma instructs a ritual procedure connected with go-dāna: the practitioner recites a declaration honoring cow and bull as parental supports, stays the night among cows observing silence, and then breaks silence in the morning specifically at the time of gifting the cow.