Shloka 8
Gavāṃ Māhātmya — Go-dāna, Yajña-ādhāra, and Goloka
Brahmā–Indra–Surabhi Itihāsa
तथैव सर्वभूतानां समतिष्ठन्त मूर्थनि । समानवत्सां कपिलां थेनुं दत्वा पयस्विनीम् । सुव्रतां वस्त्रसंवीतां ब्रह्मलोके महीयते
tathaiva sarvabhūtānāṃ samatiṣṭhanta mūrdhani | samānavatsāṃ kapilāṃ dhenuṃ datvā payasvinīm | suvratāṃ vastrasaṃvītāṃ brahmaloke mahīyate ||
婆悉吒说道：“同样，也有一些人立于一切众生之首——意即他们最为尊上，最堪礼敬。若有人布施一头多乳、相好具足的迦毗罗色（黄褐色）母牛，连同同色之犊，并以布帛恭敬覆饰，此人将在梵天之界受尊崇。”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the dharmic value of dāna: gifting a properly qualified milch cow (with a matching calf and respectfully adorned) generates great religious merit, culminating in honor in Brahmaloka. It also underscores reverence toward those who are ‘above the heads of beings’—the most venerable and ethically elevated.
Vasiṣṭha is describing the fruits of a specific charitable act—donating a tawny, milk-giving cow with a same-colored calf and cloth covering—and states the resulting reward: esteem in Brahmā’s realm. The statement about being ‘on the heads of all beings’ functions as a praise-marker for the highest, most venerable status connected with such dharmic conduct.