Shloka 51

गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्

Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows

Devanagari script

मम लोके सुरै: सार्थ लोके यत्रापि चेच्छति

Transliteration

mama loke suraiḥ sārthaṃ loke yatrāpi cecchati | śatakrato! yo manuṣya uparyukta-vidhinā vane vasann gāṃ anusarati tathā niḥspṛhaḥ saṃyamī ca pavitraś ca tṛṇa-patra-gomaya-bhakṣaṇena jīvanaṃ nayati, sa manasi kāmanā-śūnye sati mama loke devaiḥ saha ānandena nivāsam āpnoti | athavā yatra yatra icchati tatra tatra lokān gacchati ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Trong cõi của ta, người ấy an vui cùng chư thiên. Hỡi Śatakratu (Indra), người nào theo đúng phép tu đã nêu, sống trong rừng, đi theo đàn bò, giữ tâm vô dục, tự chế và thanh tịnh—lấy cỏ, lá và phân bò làm thức nuôi thân—khi lòng đã sạch mọi tham cầu, người ấy đạt đến cõi của ta và vui sống nơi ấy cùng các thần linh. Hoặc bằng không, hễ muốn đến cõi nào, người ấy cũng có thể đi đến cõi ấy.”

Word by Word

• मम: of me / my
• मम: सम्बन्ध
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• लोके: in (my) world
• लोके: अधिकारण
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• सुरैः: with the gods
• सुरैः: सह/साकं (सहकारक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• सार्थम्: together with
• सार्थम्: सह/साकं (सहकारक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सार्थम्

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: अधिकारण
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: अधिकारण
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र

• अपि: also / even
• अपि: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• च: and
• च: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• इच्छति: wishes / desires
• इच्छति: क्रिया
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष् (इच्छ्)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथम, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha)
• Indra (Śatakratu)
• surāḥ (gods/deities)
• gāvaḥ (cows)
• vana (forest)
• mama loka (Bhīṣma’s realm/heavenly world)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Austerity joined with purity, self-restraint, and freedom from desire—especially expressed through devoted service to cows and forest-discipline—yields exalted post-mortem attainments: joyful residence among the gods or access to desired higher realms.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, speaking as Pitāmaha, addresses Indra (Śatakratu) while describing the फल (result) of a specific cow-centered ascetic vow: living in the forest, following cows, and subsisting on simple, austere fare. He states the spiritual reward in terms of reaching ‘his world’ with the gods or traveling to chosen worlds.