Shloka 30

Devanagari script

यथा धावति गौर्वत्सं स्रवन्ती वत्सला पय: । एवमेव महाभाग भूमिर्भवति भूमिदम्‌,महाभाग! जैसे बछड़ेके प्रति वात्सल्यभावसे भरी हुई गौ अपने थनोंसे दूध बहाती हुई उसे पिलानेके लिये दौड़ती है, उसी प्रकार यह पृथ्वी भूमिदान करनेवालेको सुख पहुँचानेके लिये दौड़ती है

Transliteration

yathā dhāvati gaur vatsaṁ sravantī vatsalā payaḥ | evam eva mahābhāga bhūmir bhavati bhūmidam ||

Translation

جس طرح شفقت سے لبریز گائے دودھ بہاتی ہوئی اپنے بچھڑے کو پلانے کے لیے دوڑتی ہے، اسی طرح اے بزرگوار، یہ زمین بھی زمین دان کرنے والے کی بھلائی کے لیے لپکتی ہے۔

Word by Word

यथाjust as

धावतिruns

गौःthe cow

वत्सम्the calf

स्रवन्तीflowing, streaming

वत्सलाaffectionate (to the calf)

पयःmilk

एवम्thus, in the same way

एवindeed, just

महाभागO greatly fortunate one

भूमिःthe earth

भवतिbecomes, is

भूमिदम्the giver of land

महाभागO greatly fortunate one

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Earth (Bhumi)

cow

calf

milk

land-gift (bhūmidāna)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma teaches that bhūmidāna (donating land) is uniquely nourishing and beneficial: the Earth herself ‘runs’ to reward the donor, just as a mother-cow instinctively rushes to feed her calf. The simile frames charity as a living moral economy—generosity invites immediate, sustaining welfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and gifts. Here he uses a vivid pastoral image—cow and calf—to describe how the Earth responds to one who gives land, emphasizing the swift, affectionate return of auspicious results to the donor.