13.077
Bhīṣma said;
At that very time, King Saudāsa of the Ikṣvāku lineage, a chief among donors, granted a boon to Vasiṣṭha, the foremost of sages. (13-77-1)
Having saluted the priest, who is accomplished, eternal, the repository of Brahman and pervades all worlds, he began to ask him. (13-77-2)
Saudāsa said.
O Lord, in all the three worlds, O sinless one, what is said to be the most purifying (thing), by praising which always a mortal may attain the highest merit? (13-77-3)
Bhīṣma said;
Then, the pure one, knower of the Upaniṣad of the cows, having bowed to the cows, spoke a beneficial word to him who had bowed. (13-77-4)
Cows, scented with sweet and guggulu fragrances, are the foundation of all beings and a great source of wellbeing. (13-77-5)
Cows are the past and the future; cows are eternal nourishment. Cows are also the root of Lakṣmī, and what is given to cows is never destroyed. Food always comes from cows and is the foremost offering to the gods. (13-77-6)
The invocations 'svāhā' and 'vaṣaṭ' are always established in cows. Cows are truly the fruit of sacrifice, and within cows, all sacrifices are established. (13-77-7)
O best among men, O great-minded one, at the time of the oblation, both in the evening and in the morning, the cows always indeed give the offering (homya) to the sages. (13-77-8)
O lord, those who give a cow indeed cross over whatever difficulties and evil deeds they may have committed, and also sin. (13-77-9)
One should give ten times the value for one; for ten, he should also give the value of a hundred cows; for a hundred, he should give a thousand times as much. All these indeed yield equal results. (13-77-10)
One who has not kindled the sacred fire, the performer of a hundred or a thousand sacrifices, and a prosperous ploughman—these three do not deserve (to receive) the ritual offering of water. (13-77-11)
Those who give a tawny-colored cow, along with its calf, with a bronze milking vessel, of good vows and clothed with cloth, they conquer both worlds. (13-77-12)
A young, powerful, and adorned king of bulls, having many horns and accompanied by a hundred herd-mates, was offered to the chief among Brāhmaṇas. (13-77-13)
O chastiser of foes, those who give a bull to a learned Brahmin are born again and again endowed with prosperity. (13-77-14)
Without reciting the praise of cows, one should not rise from sleep without remembering them; in the evening and morning, one should also bow to the cows; thereby, one gains nourishment. (13-77-15)
One should never be disturbed by the urine and dung of cows. Nor should one eat the flesh of these cows, nor consume a dead cow. (13-77-16)
One should always repeatedly praise cows and never disrespect cows in any way. Having seen an inauspicious dream involving a cow, a man should proclaim praise for the cow. (13-77-17)
One should always bathe with cow-dung, sleep on cow-dung ash, and avoid phlegm, urine, faeces, and defilement. (13-77-18)
By eating on a wet hide, facing west, in silence, with ghee, and seated on the ground, one thereby attains abundance of cows. (13-77-19)
With clarified butter, one should perform fire offerings; with clarified butter, one should pronounce blessings. One should give butter, consume butter, and thus attains the prosperity of cows. (13-77-20)
He who, with auspicious knowledge, consecrates a cow of sesame seeds and gives one filled with nectar and gems, should not grieve for what has been done or not done. (13-77-21)
Let the cows, golden-horned and milk-giving, fragrant and descended from Surabhi, approach me just as rivers approach the ocean. (13-77-22)
Let the cows always see me, and I too will see the cows then. The cows are ours, we are theirs; because wherever the cows are, there we are. (13-77-23)
Thus, whether at night or by day, in equal or adverse circumstances, and even in great dangers, a man who chants (this) is freed from fear. (13-77-24)
