Shloka 16
Suvarṇa-janma and Dakṣiṇā-Māhātmya
Origin and Supremacy of Gold as Ritual Fee
गुणवचनसमुच्चयैकदेशो नृवर मयैष गवां प्रकीर्तितस्ते । न च परमिह दानमस्ति गोभ्यो भवति न चापि परायणं तथान्यत्
guṇavacanasamuccayaikadeśo nṛvara mayaiva eṣa gavāṁ prakīrtitas te | na ca param iha dānam asti gobhyo bhavati na cāpi parāyaṇaṁ tathā anyat ||
Wika ni Vasiṣṭha: “O pinakamainam sa mga hari, maliit na bahagi lamang ng mga papuring natipon tungkol sa mga katangian ng mga baka ang aking naisalaysay sa iyo—pahiwatig lamang. Sa daigdig na ito, walang handog na hihigit sa pag-aalay ng mga baka, at wala ring kanlungang maihahambing sa kanila.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates go-dāna (the gifting of cows) as the highest form of charity and presents cows as an unmatched source of support/refuge, framing this as a dharmic and ethically superior act.
Vasiṣṭha addresses a king, explaining that he has only offered a brief sample of the traditional praises of cows, and then emphasizes their exceptional status by declaring cow-gifting the greatest donation and cows an incomparable refuge.