Shloka 16
Go-apahāra (Cattle Theft), Go-dāna (Cow-Gift), and Suvarṇa-dakṣiṇā (Gold Fee): Karmic Consequence and Purificatory Merit
कृतं च भरते सा गौर्मम पुत्रमपस्तनम् | न सा शक््या मया दातुमित्युक्त्वा स जगाम ह
kṛtaṃ ca bharate sā gaur mama putram apastanam | na sā śakyā mayā dātuṃ ity uktvā sa jagāma ha |
Bhīṣma nói: “Hỡi Bharata, con bò này đã nuôi đứa con mồ côi mẹ của ta, ngày ngày lấy chính sữa mình mà dưỡng dục. Vì thế ta không thể đem nó cho người.” Nói xong, ông liền ra đi, dắt con bò theo.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.