Shloka 13

गोशकृन्माहात्म्य-प्रश्नः (On the Merit of Cow-Dung and the Abode of Śrī) / Inquiry into the Sanctity of Cow-Dung

Devanagari script

कपिलां ये प्रयच्छन्ति सवत्सां कांस्यदोहनाम्‌ । सुव्रतां वस्त्रसंवीतामुभी लोकौ जयन्ति ते

Transliteration

kapilāṃ ye prayacchanti savatsāṃ kāṃsyadohanām | suvratāṃ vastrasaṃvītām ubhī lokau jayanti te ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“凡施与一头迦毗罗牛（kapilā，黄褐色之牛），并连同其犊，妆饰周备、以布覆身，又另赠一只青铜挤乳器皿者，必能在两界得胜：此世与彼世。”

Word by Word

• कपिलाम्: a tawny (kapilā) cow
• कपिलाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपिला
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रयच्छन्ति: give, bestow
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-यम्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• सवत्साम्: with a calf
• सवत्साम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सवत्सा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• कांस्य: bronze (kāṁsya)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कांस्य
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (in compound relation), Singular

• दोहनाम्: fit for milking / for milking
• दोहनाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दोहना
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

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

• वस्त्र: cloth, garment
• Type: Noun
• Root: वस्त्र
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (in compound relation), Singular

• संवीताम्: clothed, covered
• संवीताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-वे (संवी)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• उभी: both
• उभी: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उभ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Dual

• लोकौ: worlds
• लोकौ: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Dual

• जयन्ति: conquer, win
• Type: Verb
• Root: जि
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• ते: they
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• kapilā cow
• calf
• kāṃsya (bronze) milking vessel
• both worlds (iha-loka and para-loka)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that dharmic giving should be auspicious and complete: donating a cow with her calf, properly adorned, and supplying the practical means (a bronze milking vessel) yields merit that benefits both worldly life and the afterlife.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (dāna-dharma), he specifies a particular form of cow-gift and states its फल (result): the donor ‘conquers’ both realms—gaining prosperity/repute here and spiritual merit beyond.