Shloka 16

Devanagari script

कृतं च भरते सा गौर्मम पुत्रमपस्तनम्‌ | न सा शक्‍्या मया दातुमित्युक्त्वा स जगाम ह,“अपने दूधसे यह गौ मेरे मातृहीन शिशुका प्रतिदिन पालन करती है; अतः मैं इसे कदापि नहीं दे सकता।” यह कहकर वह उस गायको लेकर चला गया

Transliteration

kṛtaṃ ca bharate sā gaur mama putram apastanam | na sā śakyā mayā dātuṃ ity uktvā sa jagāma ha |

Translation

“اے بھرت! یہ گائے میرے ماں سے محروم بچے کی اپنے دودھ سے روزانہ پرورش کرتی ہے؛ اس لیے میں اسے دے نہیں سکتا۔” یہ کہہ کر وہ گائے کو ساتھ لے کر چلا گیا۔

Word by Word

कृतम्done; (it is) done

चand

भरतेO Bharata

साshe; that (cow)

गौःcow

ममmy

पुत्रम्son

अपस्तनम्without a mother’s breast; motherless (un-nursed)

नnot

साshe; that (cow)

शक्याpossible; able to be (given)

मयाby me

दातुम्to give

इतिthus; saying

उक्त्वाhaving said

सःhe

जगामwent

हindeed; (emphatic particle)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Bharata

cow (gauḥ)

motherless child/son (putra, apastana)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is not merely formal charity; it includes gratitude and the protection of those who have become dependents. A gift is unethical if it harms a vulnerable being or violates one’s responsibility toward a benefactor.

What is happening in the narrative?

A man explains to Bharata that a particular cow daily nourishes his motherless child with her milk; therefore he refuses to give the cow away and leaves, taking her with him.