Shloka 19

Gavāṃ Māhātmya — Go-dāna, Yajña-ādhāra, and Goloka

Brahmā–Indra–Surabhi Itihāsa

Devanagari script

समानवत्सां गौरीं तु थेनुं दत्त्वा पयस्विनीम्‌ । सुव्रतां वस्त्रसंवीतां वसूनां लोकमाप्नुयात्‌

Transliteration

samānavatsāṃ gaurīṃ tu dhenuṃ dattvā payasvinīm | suvratāṃ vastrasaṃvītāṃ vasūnāṃ lokam āpnuyāt ||

Translation

Vasiṣṭha nói: Ai bố thí một con bò màu trắng nhạt, dồi dào sữa, cùng với bê con đồng màu, lại phủ vải cho nó và tự giữ hạnh kiểm đoan chính, người ấy sẽ đến cõi của các Vasu.

Word by Word

• समानवत्साम्: having a calf of the same color (with her calf matching)
• समानवत्साम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समानवत्सा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• गौरीम्: a fair/white cow (Gaurī)
• गौरीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गौरी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• तु: indeed/and/but
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• धेनुम्: milch-cow
• धेनुम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धेनु
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• दत्त्वा: having given (donated)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral here), Non-finite

• पयस्विनीम्: milk-yielding
• पयस्विनीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पयस्विनी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• सुव्रताम्: of good observance/virtuous
• सुव्रताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुव्रता
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• वस्त्रसंवीताम्: clothed/covered with a garment
• वस्त्रसंवीताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वस्त्रसंवीता
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• वसूनाम्: of the Vasus
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• लोकम्: world/realm
• लोकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आप्नुयात्: would attain
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप्
• Form: Vidhi-linga (optative), Non-past (modal), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• dhenu (milch-cow)
• vatsa (calf)
• vastra (cloth/garment)
• Vasus (Vasavaḥ)
• Vasuloka (world of the Vasus)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that disciplined, respectful charity—specifically gifting a healthy milk-giving cow with a matching calf and proper presentation—constitutes dharma and yields exalted merit, symbolized by attaining the realm of the Vasus.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vasiṣṭha is enumerating the fruits of specific gifts (dāna-phala). Here he states the spiritual result of donating a well-adorned milch-cow together with her calf: the donor reaches Vasuloka, the world associated with the Vasus.