Shloka 9

Adhyāya 138: Vāyu’s Exempla on Brāhmaṇa-Prabhāva and a Cosmological Clarification

Devanagari script

तस्य तत्र चतुर्भागो यो ददाति गवाद्विकम्‌

Transliteration

tasya tatra caturbhāgo yo dadāti gavādvikam

Translation

اس معاملے میں جو شخص روزانہ گائے کو خوراک دیتا ہے، وہ مسلسل کی جانے والی گوسےوا کے ثواب کا چوتھائی حصہ حاصل کرتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him/its
• तस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• तत्र: there/in that matter
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• चतुर्भागः: a fourth part/one quarter
• चतुर्भागः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्भाग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यः: who/which
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ददाति: gives
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (दाने)
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• गवाद्विकम्: a pair of cows (cow-couple)
• गवाद्विकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गवाद्विक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

महेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Maheśvara (Śiva)
• cow (go)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Regularly feeding and serving cows is presented as a dharmic act that yields spiritual merit; even the specific act of giving food to a cow grants a defined share—one quarter—of the merit associated with ongoing cow-service, emphasizing disciplined, compassionate giving.

What is happening in the narrative?

Maheśvara is explaining the religious efficacy of honoring cows: cows are described as powerful and boon-giving, and he quantifies the merit gained by a person who habitually feeds cows, linking the practice to the attainment of desired fruits of action.