Shloka 9
Go-apahāra (Cattle Theft), Go-dāna (Cow-Gift), and Suvarṇa-dakṣiṇā (Gold Fee): Karmic Consequence and Purificatory Merit
शतं सहस्राणि गवां शतं पुनः पुन: शतान्यष्टशतायुतानि । त्वया पुरा दत्तमितीह शुश्रुम नृप द्विजेभ्य: क्व नु तद् गतं तव
śataṃ sahasrāṇi gavāṃ śataṃ punaḥ punaḥ śatāny aṣṭaśatāyutāni | tvayā purā dattam itīha śuśruma nṛpa dvijebhyaḥ kva nu tad gataṃ tava ||
毗湿摩说道：“大王啊，我们听闻往昔你曾施与婆罗门十万头牛；随后又施一百，又施一百；其后又屡行大施，复施八百个‘万’之十千。如此诸施之功德，于你而言，如今究竟归于何处？”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even vast charity (such as repeated cow-gifts) must be protected by right conduct; Bhishma’s question implies that merit can be diminished or lost when later actions contradict dharma, so one must unite generosity with ethical living.
Bhishma addresses a king and recalls reports of his enormous donations to Brahmins—ranging from 100,000 cows to further gifts totaling millions—then challenges him by asking where the fruit of those gifts has gone, setting up a discussion on how merit operates and how it may be preserved or squandered.