Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 14
गोशकृन्माहात्म्य-प्रश्नः (On the Merit of Cow-Dung and the Abode of Śrī) / Inquiry into the Sanctity of Cow-Dung
महर्षि वशिष्ठका राजा सौदाससे गौओंका माहात्म्य-कथन युवानमिन्द्रियोपेतं शतेन शतयूथपम् । गवेन्द्रं ब्राह्मणेन्द्राय भूरिशंगमलड्कृतम्
yuvānam indriyopetaṁ śatena śatayūthapam | gavendraṁ brāhmaṇendrāya bhūriśaṅgam alaṅkṛtam ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “O hari na nagpapaliyab sa mga kaaway! Yaong mga nag-aayos at nagkakaloob sa isang brāhmaṇa na śrotriya—dalubhasa sa Veda—ng isang maringal na toro: bata, ganap ang lahat ng pandama, pinuno ng sandaang kawan, may malalaking sungay; at kasama ang sandaang baka, sila, sa tuwing muling isisilang sa mundong ito, ay paulit-ulit na nagiging kabahagi ng dakilang kapangyarihan at kayamanan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That properly performed dāna—especially gifting valuable cattle (a prime bull with cows) to a worthy, Veda-learned brāhmaṇa—produces lasting puṇya, manifesting as prosperity and high status repeatedly across future births.
Bhīṣma is instructing the king on the greatness of go-dāna (cow-gifting). He describes the ideal gift (a young, fully sound, decorated herd-leading bull along with a hundred cows) and states the karmic result: recurring worldly prosperity whenever the donor is reborn.