Shloka 43
Nṛga-upākhyāna: Brāhmaṇa-sva and the Consequence of Misappropriated Gift-Cattle (कृकलास-रूपे नृगोपाख्यानम्)
अतश्चर्मण्वती राजन् गोचर्मभ्य: प्रवर्तिता । पशुत्वाच्च विनिर्मुक्ता: प्रदानायोपकल्पिता:
Bhīṣma uvāca: ataś carmaṇvatī rājan gocarmabhyaḥ pravartitā | paśutvāc ca vinirmuktāḥ pradānāyopakalpitāḥ ||
Bhishma nói: “Vì thế, hỡi đại vương, con sông mang tên Carmaṇvatī đã chảy ra từ những tấm da bò. Những con bò ấy, đã được giải khỏi thân phận ‘vật tế’ thuần túy, được dành riêng cho việc đem tặng làm bố thí.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma underscores the dharmic gravity of dāna: what is designated for gifting—especially cows in royal rites—should be treated as sacred and ethically protected, not reduced to mere consumable property.
Bhishma explains an etiological tradition: the river Carmaṇvatī is said to have arisen from cow-hides connected with King Rantideva’s great sacrificial-gifting context, emphasizing that the cows involved were specifically set apart for donation and thus 'freed' from ordinary sacrificial-animal status.