Shloka 22

गवां लोकवर्णनं तथा गोप्रदानफलश्रुतिः

Description of the ‘World of Cows’ and the Stated Fruits of Cow-Gift

Devanagari script

शुभे पात्रे ये गुणा गोप्रदाने तावान्‌ दोषो ब्राह्मणस्वापहारे । सर्वावस्थं ब्राह्मणस्वापहारो दाराश्नैषां दूरतो वर्जनीया:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | śubhe pātre ye guṇā gopradāne tāvān doṣo brāhmaṇasvāpahāre | sarvāvasthaṃ brāhmaṇasvāpahāro dārāś ca eṣāṃ dūrato varjanīyāḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma nói: “Phước đức nào phát sinh từ việc hiến tặng một con bò cho người thọ nhận xứng đáng, thì tội lỗi cũng phát sinh ngang bằng khi chiếm đoạt tài sản của một brāhmaṇa. Vì vậy, trong mọi hoàn cảnh, chớ đoạt lấy của cải của brāhmaṇa; và cũng phải tránh—dù từ xa—mọi sự giao kết bất chính với vợ của các brāhmaṇa.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'śubhe pātre', 'definition': 'in/unto a worthy (auspicious) recipient

• a fit person for receiving a gift'}, {'term': 'guṇāḥ', 'definition': 'merits, virtues, beneficial results'}, {'term': 'go-pradāne', 'definition': 'in the giving of a cow (cow-gift), a major act of dāna'}, {'term': 'tāvān', 'definition': 'so much, to that same extent'}, {'term': 'doṣaḥ', 'definition': 'fault, demerit, sin'}, {'term': 'brāhmaṇa-sva', 'definition': 'a Brahmin’s property/wealth (sva = one’s own possessions)'}, {'term': 'apahāraḥ / apahāre', 'definition': 'seizure, theft, wrongful taking

• (locative) in the act of taking away'}, {'term': 'sarvāvastham', 'definition': 'in every condition/situation

• at all times'}, {'term': 'dārāḥ', 'definition': 'wives (especially in the sense of protected household women)'}, {'term': 'dūrataḥ', 'definition': 'from a distance

• completely, strictly'}, {'term': 'varjanīyāḥ', 'definition': 'to be avoided, to be shunned'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Brahmins
• cow-gift (go-dāna)
• Brahmin property (brāhmaṇa-sva)
• wives of Brahmins (dārāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse equates the merit of gifting a cow to a worthy recipient with the sin incurred by seizing a Brahmin’s property, and it lays down a strict rule: never take a Brahmin’s wealth under any circumstances, and strictly avoid illicit relations with Brahmins’ wives.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction section, Bhishma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on ethical conduct, emphasizing the gravity of offenses against Brahmins and the importance of restraint and respect in matters of property and sexuality.