Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 13
गोशकृन्माहात्म्य-प्रश्नः (On the Merit of Cow-Dung and the Abode of Śrī) / Inquiry into the Sanctity of Cow-Dung
कपिलां ये प्रयच्छन्ति सवत्सां कांस्यदोहनाम् । सुव्रतां वस्त्रसंवीतामुभी लोकौ जयन्ति ते
kapilāṃ ye prayacchanti savatsāṃ kāṃsyadohanām | suvratāṃ vastrasaṃvītām ubhī lokau jayanti te ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Ang mga nagkakaloob ng isang kapilā na baka (kulay kayumangging dilaw) kasama ang guya—na maayos ang ayos at nababalutan ng tela—at nagbibigay pa ng sisidlang tanso para sa paggagatas, sila’y nagtatamo ng tagumpay sa dalawang daigdig: sa daigdig na ito at sa susunod.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dharmic giving should be auspicious and complete: donating a cow with her calf, properly adorned, and supplying the practical means (a bronze milking vessel) yields merit that benefits both worldly life and the afterlife.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (dāna-dharma), he specifies a particular form of cow-gift and states its फल (result): the donor ‘conquers’ both realms—gaining prosperity/repute here and spiritual merit beyond.