Shloka 8
अबुद्धिपूर्वकपापविमोचनप्रश्नः — Janamejaya’s Unintended Transgression and the Indrota Rebuke
यो हि वच्िद् द्विज॑ हन्याद् गांच लोकस्य मातरम्
yo hi kaścid dvija hanyād gāṁ lokasya mātaram
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Kung ang sinumang dvija (dalawang ulit na isinilang) ay pumatay ng baka—ang ina ng daigdig—siya’y gagawa ng napakabigat na kasalanan; sapagkat ang baka ay itinatag sa dharma bilang pangkalahatang tagapagkaloob ng kabutihan at sagisag ng pag-iingat na nararapat sa mga walang sala.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical gravity of harming a cow, portraying her as “mother of the world,” and thus frames cow-protection as a significant duty within dharma, especially for the dvija who is expected to embody restraint and righteousness.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and conduct; here he emphasizes the serious moral fault incurred by killing a cow, using the epithet “mother of the world” to heighten the injunction.