Shloka 8
Gavāṃ Māhātmya — Go-dāna, Yajña-ādhāra, and Goloka
Brahmā–Indra–Surabhi Itihāsa
तथैव सर्वभूतानां समतिष्ठन्त मूर्थनि । समानवत्सां कपिलां थेनुं दत्वा पयस्विनीम् । सुव्रतां वस्त्रसंवीतां ब्रह्मलोके महीयते
tathaiva sarvabhūtānāṃ samatiṣṭhanta mūrdhani | samānavatsāṃ kapilāṃ dhenuṃ datvā payasvinīm | suvratāṃ vastrasaṃvītāṃ brahmaloke mahīyate ||
Wika ni Vasiṣṭha: “Gayon din, may mga nakatataas sa ulo ng lahat ng nilalang—ibig sabihin, sila ang pinakadakila at pinakakarapat-dapat igalang. Ang sinumang maghandog ng isang Kapilā na bakang mapagatas at may mabubuting tanda, kasama ang guya na kapareho ang kulay, at maayos na nababalutan ng tela, ay pararangalan sa daigdig ni Brahmā.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the dharmic value of dāna: gifting a properly qualified milch cow (with a matching calf and respectfully adorned) generates great religious merit, culminating in honor in Brahmaloka. It also underscores reverence toward those who are ‘above the heads of beings’—the most venerable and ethically elevated.
Vasiṣṭha is describing the fruits of a specific charitable act—donating a tawny, milk-giving cow with a same-colored calf and cloth covering—and states the resulting reward: esteem in Brahmā’s realm. The statement about being ‘on the heads of all beings’ functions as a praise-marker for the highest, most venerable status connected with such dharmic conduct.