वैशम्पायन उवाच ततो युधिष्ठिरो राजा भूयः शान्तनवं नृपम्। गोदानविस्तरं धर्मान् पप्रच्छ विनयान्वितः॥
Vaishampayana said King Yudhishthira gifted with humility, once again asked the royal son of Shantanu on the subject of gifts of kine in full.
राजोवाच गोप्रदानगुणान् सम्यक् पुनर्मे ब्रूहि भारत। न हि तृप्याम्यहं वीर शृण्वानोऽमृतमीदृशम्॥
The king said Do you, O Bharata, once more describe to me in full merits of giving away kine. Indeed, O hero, I have not been satiated with hearing your nectarlike words.
वैशम्पायन उवाच इत्युक्तो धर्मराजेन तदा शान्तनवो नृपः। सम्यगाह गुणांस्तस्मै गोप्रदानस्य केवलान्॥
Vaishampayana said Thus accosted by king Yudhishthira the just, Shantanu's son began to describe to him once again, in full, the merits of the gift of kine.
भीष्म उवाच वत्सलां गुणसम्पन्नां तरुणीं वस्त्रसंयुताम्। दत्त्वेदृशीं गां विप्राय सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते॥
Bhishma said By giving to a Brahmana a cow having a calf, gifted with docility and other virtues, young in years and covered round with a piece of cloth, one is purged of all his sins.
असुर्या नाम ते लोका गां दत्त्वा तान् न गच्छति। पीतोदकां जग्धतृणां नष्टक्षीरां निरिन्द्रियाम्॥
There are many regions which have no sun. One who makes the gift of a cow has not to go there.
जरारोगोपसम्पन्नां जीर्णां वापीमिवाजलाम्। दत्त्वा तमः प्रविशति द्विजं क्लेशेन योजयेत्॥
That man, however, who gives to a Brahmana a cow that cannot drink or eat, that has her milk dried up, that has weakened senses and that is diseased and overcome with decrepitude, and that may, therefore, be compared to a tank whose water has been dried upindeed, the man who gives such cow to a Brahmana and thereby inflicts only pain and disappointment upon him, has certainly to enter into dark Hell.
रुष्टा दुष्टा व्याधिता दुर्बला वा नो दातव्या याश्च मूल्यैरदत्तैः। क्लेशैर्विप्रं योऽफलैः संयुनक्ति तस्यावीर्याश्चाफलाश्चैव लोकाः॥
That cow which is wrathful and vicious, or diseased, or weak, or which has been brought without the price agreed upon having been paid, or which would only afflict the twiceborn recipient with distress and disappointment, should never be given. The regions such a man may acquire would not give him any happiness or energy.
बलान्विताः शीलवयोपपन्नाः सर्वे प्रशंसन्ति सुगन्धवत्यः। यथा हि गङ्गा सरितां वरिष्ठा तथार्जुनीनां कपिला वरिष्ठा॥
Only such kine as are strong, gifted with good behaviour, young in years, and possessed of odour, are highly spoken of by all. Indeed, as Ganga is the foremost of all rivers, so is a Kapila cow the foremost of all kine.
युधिष्ठिर उवाच कस्मात् समाने बहुलाप्रदाने सद्धिः प्रशस्तं कपिलाप्रदानाम्। विशेषमिच्छामि महाप्रभावं श्रोतुं समर्थोऽस्मि भवान् प्रवक्तुम्॥
Yudhishthira said Why, O grandfather, do the righteous highly speak of the gift of a Kapila cow when all good kine that are given away should be considered as equal? O you of great power, I wish to hear what the superiority is of a Kapila cow. You are indeed, competent to discourse to me on this subject.
भीष्म उवाच वृद्धानां ब्रुवतां तात श्रुतं मे यत् पुरातनम्। वक्ष्यामि तदशेषेण रोहिण्यो निर्मिता यथा।॥
Bhishma said I have, O son, heard old men recite this history about the circumstances under which the Kapila cow was created. I shall recite that old history to you.
प्रजाः सृजेति चादिष्टः पूर्वं दक्षः स्वयम्भुवा। असृजद् वृत्तिमेवाग्रे प्रजानां हितकाम्यया॥
Formerly the Selfcreate Brahman commanded the Rishi Daksha, saying, Do you create living creatures, For doing good to creatures, Daksha, first of all created food.
यथा ह्यमृतमाश्रित्य वर्तयन्ति दिवौकसः। तथा वृत्तिं समाश्रित्य वर्तयन्ति प्रजा विभो॥
As the deities live upon nectar, so all living creatures, O powerful one, live upon the food assigned by Daksha.
अचरेभ्यश्च भूतेभ्यश्चराः श्रेष्ठाः सदा नराः। ब्राह्मणाश्च ततः श्रेष्ठास्तेषु यज्ञाः प्रतिष्ठिताः॥
Among all objects mobile and immobile, the mobile are superior. Among mobile creatures, Brahmanas are superior. The sacrifices are all set upon them.
यज्ञैरवाप्यते सोमः स च गोषु प्रतिष्ठितः। ततो देवाः प्रमोदन्ते पूर्वं वृत्तिस्ततः प्रजाः॥
It is by sacrifice that Soma is got. Sacrifice has been fixed upon kine. The gods become pleased through sacrifices. The means of livelihood were created first, creatures came next.
प्रजातान्येव भूतानि प्राक्रोशन् वृत्तिकाझया। वृत्तिदं चान्वपद्यन्त तृषिताः पितृमातृवत्॥
As soon as creatures were born, they began to cry aloud for food. All of them then approached their creator who was to give them food, like children approaching their parents.
इतीदं मनसा गत्वा प्रजासर्गार्थमात्मनः। प्रजापतिस्तु भगवानमृतं प्रापिबत् तदा॥
Approved of the desire of all his creatures, the holy lord of all creatures, viz., Daksha, for the sake of his creatures, himself drank a quantity of nectar.
स गतस्तस्य तृप्ति तु गन्धं सुरभिमुद्भिरन्। ददर्शोद्वारसंवृत्तां सुरभिं मुखजां सुताम्॥
He became pleased with the nectar, he drank and thereupon an eructation came out, spreading an excellent odour all around. That cruciation, Daksha saw gave birth to a cow which he named Surabhi. This Surabhi was thus a daughter of his, that had come out of his inouth.
सासृजत् सौरभेयीस्तु सुरभिर्लोकमातृकाः। सुवर्णवर्णाः कपिलाः प्रजानां वृत्तिधेनवः॥
That cow called Surabhi gave birth to a number of daughters who became the mothers of the world. They were goldhued, and were all Kapilas. They were the means of livelihood for all crcatures.
तासाममृतवर्णानां क्षरन्तीनां समन्ततः। बभूवामृतजः फेनः स्रवन्तीनामिवोर्मिजः॥
As those kine, whose complexion resembled that of nectar, began to pour milk, the forth of that inilk arose and began to spread on all sides as when the waves of a running river dashing against one another, sufficient froth is produced that spreads on all sides.
स वत्समुखविभ्रष्टो भवस्य भुवि तिष्ठतः। शिरस्यवाप तत् क्रुद्धः स तदैक्षत च प्रभुः॥
Some of that froth fell, from the mouths of the calves that were sucking, upon the head of Mahadeva who was then sitting on the Earth. The powerful Mahadeva thereupon, stricken with anger, looked at those kine.
ललाटप्रभवेणाक्ष्वा रोहिणीं प्रदहन्निव। तत्तेजस्तु ततो रौद्रं कपिलास्ता विशाम्पते॥ नानावर्णत्वमनयन्मेघानिव दिवाकरः। यास्तु तस्मादपक्रम्य सोममेषाभिसंश्रिताः॥ यथौत्पन्नाः स्ववर्णास्थास्ता ह्येता नान्यवर्णगाः। अथ क्रुद्धं महादेवं प्रजापतिरभाषत॥ अमृतेनावसिक्तस्तवं नोच्छिष्टं विद्यते गवाम्। यथा ह्यमृतमादाय सोमो विस्यन्दते पुनः॥
With that third eye of his which adorns his forehead, he seemed to burn those kine as he espied them. Like the Sun living masses of clouds with various colours, the energy that, came out from the third eye of Mahadeva produced, O king, various complexions in those kine. Those amongst them, however, which succeeded in escaping from the looks of Mahadeva by entering the region of Soma, remained of the same colour with which they were born, for no change was produced in their colour. Seeing that Mahadeva had become highly wroth, Daksha, the lord of all creatures, addressed him, saying, You have, O great deity, been drenched with nectar. The milk or the froth that escapes from the mouths of calves sucking their dams is never considered as impure. The Moon, after drinking the nectar, pours it once more. It is not, therefore, regarded as impure.
तथा क्षीरं क्षरन्त्येता रोहिण्योऽमृतसम्भवम्। न दुष्यत्यनिलो नाग्निर्न सुवर्णं न चोदधिः॥
Likewise, the milk that these kine give, being born of nectar, should not be considered as impure. The wind can never become impure. Fire can never become impure. Gold can never become impure. The Ocean can never become impure.
नामृते नामृतं पीतं वत्सपीता न वत्सला। इमाल्लोकान् भरिष्यन्ति हविषा प्रस्रवेण च॥
The Nectar, even when drunk by the gods, can never become impure. Likewise, the milk of a cow, even when her udders are sucked by her calf, can never become impure. These kine will support all these worlds with the milk they will give and the clarified butter that will be inade from it.
आसामैश्चर्यमिच्छन्ति सर्वेऽमृतमयं शुभम्। वृषभं च ददौ तस्मै सह गोभिः प्रजापतिः॥
All creatures wish to enjoy the sacred wealth, at one with nectar, that kine possess. Having said these words, the lord of creatures, Daksha, made a present to Mahadeva of a bull with certain kine.
प्रसादयामास मनस्तेन रुद्रस्य भारत। प्रीतश्चापि महादेवश्चकार वृषभं तदा॥ ध्वजं च वाहनं चैव तस्मात् स वृषभध्वजः।
Daksha pleased Rudra, O Bharata, with that present. Mahadeva, thus pleased, made that bull his career, And it was after the form of that bull that Mahadeva adopted the emblem on the standard floating on his battlecar. Therefore it is that Rudra came to be known as the bullbannered deity.
ततो देवैर्महादेवस्तदा पशुपतिः कृतः। ईश्वरः स गवां मध्ये वृषभाङ्कः प्रकीर्तितः॥
It was on that occasion also that the celestials, in a body, made Mahadeva the lord of animals. Indeed, the great Rudra became the Master of kine and is named as the bullemblemed deity.
एवमव्यग्रवर्णानां कपिलानां महौजसाम्। प्रदाने प्रथमः कल्पः सर्वासामेव कीर्तितः॥
Hence, O king, the gift of kine is considered as primarily desirable of Kapila kine which are endued with great energy and possessed of unchanged colour.
लोकज्येष्ठा लोकवृत्तिप्रवृत्ता रुद्रोपेता: सोमविष्यन्दभूताः। सौम्याः पुण्याः कामदाः प्राणदाश्च गा वै दत्त्वा सर्वकामप्रदः स्यात्॥
Thus are kine the foremost of all creatures in the world. It is from them that the food of all the worlds has emanated. They have Rudra for their lord. They yield (nectar) in the form of milk. They are auspicious and sacred, and grantors of every wish and givers of life. A person by making a gift of a cow is considered as making a gift of every article that is to be enjoyed by men.
इदं गवां प्रभवविधानमुत्तमं पठन् सदाशुचिरपि मङ्गलप्रियः। विमुच्यते कलिकलुषेण मानव: श्रियं सुतान् धनपशुमाप्नुयात् सदा॥
That who, wishing to acquire prosperity, reads with a pure heart and body these Verses on the origin of kine, becomes purged of all his sins and acquires prosperity and children and wealth and animals.
हव्यं कव्यं तर्पणं शान्तिकर्म यानं वासो वृद्धबालस्य तुष्टिः। एतान् सर्वान् गोप्रदाने गुणान् वै दाता राजन्नाप्नुयाद् वै सदैव॥
man He who makes a gift of a cow. O king, always succeeds in winning the merits of gifts of Havya and Kavya, of the offer of oblations of water to the departed Manes, of religious acts whose performance brings peace and happiness, of the gift of vehicles and cloths, and of cherishing of children and the old.
वैशम्पायन उवाच पितामहस्याथ निशम्य वाक्यं राजा सह भ्रातृभिराजमीढः। सुवर्णवर्णानडुहस्तथा गाः पार्थो ददौ ब्राह्मणसत्तमेभ्यः॥
Vaishampayana said Hearing these words of his grandfather, Pritha's son, viz., the royal Yudhishthira of Ajamidha's race, uniting with his brothers, began to make gifts of both bulls and kine of different colours to foremost of Brahmanas.
तथैव तेभ्योऽपि ददौ द्विजेभ्यो गवां सहस्राणि शतानि चैव। यज्ञान् समुद्दिश्य च दक्षिणार्थे लोकान् विजेतुं परमां च कीर्तिम्॥
Indeed, for getting regions of felicity in the next, and acquiring great fame, king Yudhishthira celebrated many sacrifices and, as sacrificial presents, gave away hundreds of thousands of kine to such Brahmanas.