Shloka 263
Go-mahātmyam: Pavitrāṇāṃ Pavitraṃ
Cows and Ghee as Supreme Purifiers
आसामैश्वर्यमिच्छन्ति सर्वेडमृतमयं शुभम् | 'जैसे वायु
āsām aiśvaryam icchanti sarve ’mṛtamayaṃ śubham | yathā vāyur agniḥ suvarṇaṃ samudro devatābhiḥ pītam amṛtaṃ ca na ucchiṣṭaṃ bhavati, tathā vatsānāṃ pāne ’pi vatsasnehavatī gauḥ na dūṣyate na ucchiṣṭā bhavati | (tātparyam: pāne vatsamukhāt patitaḥ phenakaḥ aśuddhaḥ na manyate) etā gāvaḥ svadugdhaghṛtābhyāṃ idaṃ sarvaṃ jagat pālayiṣyanti | sarve icchanti etāsāṃ gāṃ madhye maṅgalakārī amṛtamaya-dugdha-sampad avicchinnā tiṣṭhet |
Ipinaliwanag ni Bhishma na ninanais ng lahat na ang mga bakang ito ay magtaglay ng mapalad, amṛta‑na kasaganaan. Kung paanong ang hangin, apoy, ginto, karagatan, at maging ang amṛta na ininom ng mga diyos ay hindi itinuturing na “nadungisan” o “tira,” gayundin ang inang baka na may pag-ibig sa kanyang mga guya ay hindi nagiging marumi kapag sila’y sumisipsip ng gatas. Kaya ang bulang nahuhulog mula sa bibig ng guya habang umiinom ay hindi itinuturing na marumi. Ang gayong mga baka, sa pamamagitan ng kanilang gatas at ghee, ang magpapanatili sa buong daigdig; kaya hinahangad ng mga tao na ang pinagpalang yaman ng kanilang gatas—na tulad ng amṛta—ay manatiling sagana magpakailanman.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that a cow’s nurturing act is intrinsically pure: even if a calf’s mouth-contact produces foam or remnants, it is not treated as ucchiṣṭa (defiling leftover). This supports a dharmic ethic that honors the cow as a sustaining, auspicious source of nourishment for society.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he addresses concerns about impurity connected with calves drinking. He uses analogies (wind, fire, gold, ocean, divine nectar) to argue that certain sustaining or inherently pure substances are not defiled, and concludes by praising cows whose milk and ghee maintain the world and whose abundance everyone wishes to preserve.