Shloka 4

गवां लोकवर्णनं तथा गोप्रदानफलश्रुतिः

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

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच तुल्यनामानि देयानि त्रीणि तुल्यफलानि च । सर्वकामफलानीह गाव: पृथ्वी सरस्वती

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca

tulyanāmāni deyāni trīṇi tulyaphalāni ca |

sarvakāmaphalānīha gāvaḥ pṛthvī sarasvatī ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Hỡi Yudhishthira, có ba lễ vật nên đem bố thí, vì tên gọi tương ứng và quả báo cũng tương ứng: đó là bò, đất đai (ruộng đất), và Sarasvatī—học vấn, lời nói thiêng. Ở đời này, ba điều ấy được nói là ban cho con người quả thành tựu mọi ước nguyện.”

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'tulya': 'equal, equivalent', 'nāmāni': 'names (also: designations/epithets)', 'deyāni': 'to be given

• worthy of being donated', 'trīṇi': 'three', 'tulyaphalāni': 'having equal fruits/results', 'ca': 'and', 'sarva': 'all', 'kāma': 'desire

• wished-for aim', 'phala': 'fruit

• reward', 'iha': 'here (in this world/teaching context)', 'gāvaḥ': 'cows', 'pṛthvī': 'earth

• soil (as a gift: land-grant)', 'sarasvatī': 'Sarasvatī

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Yudhishthira
• cows
• earth/land (pṛthvī)
• Sarasvatī (learning/speech)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that donating cows, donating land, and supporting Sarasvatī (learning/sacred speech—e.g., education, Vedic study, teachers) are three supremely meritorious gifts. They are regarded as equivalent in name and in spiritual reward, and are praised as fulfilling a donor’s rightful aims.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma addresses Yudhishthira and enumerates exemplary forms of dāna (charitable giving). Here he highlights three principal gifts—cow, land, and Sarasvatī—stating their equal efficacy and broad beneficence.