Shloka 9
गोप्रदानविधिः (Gopradāna-vidhi) — Procedure and Praise of Cow-Gifting
कियत्कालं प्रदानस्य दाता च फलमश्ुते । कं बहुविध॑ दानं स्यादल्पमपि वा कथम्,दाताको गोदानका फल वहाँ कितने समयतक भोगनेको मिलता है? अनेक प्रकारका दान कैसे किया जाता है? अथवा थोड़ा-सा भी दान किस प्रकार सम्भव होता है?
kiyatkālaṃ pradānasya dātā ca phalam aśnute | kaṃ bahuvidhaṃ dānaṃ syād alpam api vā katham |
دینے والا وہاں اپنے عطیے کا پھل کتنے عرصے تک بھگتتا ہے؟ ‘کثیر النوع دان’ کس کو کہتے ہیں؟ اور تھوڑا سا دان بھی کیسے ممکن اور بامعنی بن جاتا ہے؟
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-inquiry: giving (dāna) is evaluated not only by quantity but by its ethical quality and consequences—how long its merit endures, what makes giving ‘manifold’ (varied and appropriate), and how even a small gift can be significant when rightly offered.
Śakra (Indra) asks a set of clarifying questions about dāna-dharma—its duration of reward, the forms that count as diverse giving, and the conditions under which even a modest offering becomes valid and fruitful—prompting the subsequent instruction on charity.