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vasiṣṭha uvāca॥
Vasiṣṭha said.
ghṛtakṣīrapradā gāvo ghṛtayonyo ghṛtodbhavāḥ। ghṛtanadyo ghṛtāvartāstā me santu sadā gṛhe ॥13-79-1॥
May cows that give ghee and milk, whose origin and birth are from ghee, that have rivers and eddies of ghee, always be present in my house. (13-79-1)
ghṛtaṃ me hṛdaye nityaṃ ghṛtaṃ nābhyāṃ pratiṣṭhitam। ghṛtaṃ sarveṣu gātreṣu ghṛtaṃ me manasi sthitam ॥13-79-2॥
Clarified butter is always in my heart, clarified butter is established in my navel. Clarified butter is in all my limbs, clarified butter abides in my mind. (13-79-2)
gāvaḥ mamāgrato nityaṁ gāvaḥ pṛṣṭhata eva ca। gāvaḥ me sarvataścaiva gavāṁ madhye vasāmyaham ॥13-79-3॥
Cows are always in front of me, cows are indeed behind as well. Cows are all around me, and I dwell in the midst of cows. (13-79-3)
ityācamya japetsāyaṁ prātaśca puruṣaḥ sadā। yadahnā kurute pāpaṁ tasmātsa parimucyate ॥13-79-4॥
Thus, after performing the ritual sipping, a man should always recite in the evening and the morning; from whatever sin he commits during the day, he is thereby fully freed. (13-79-4)
prāsādā yatra sauvarṇā vasordhārā ca yatra sā। gandharvāpsaraso yatra tatra yānti sahasradāḥ ॥13-79-5॥
Where there are palaces, where are golden streams of treasure and where she is, there Gandharvas and Apsarases go in thousands. (13-79-5)
navanīta-paṅkāḥ kṣīroda dadhi-śaivala-saṅkulāḥ। vahanti yatra nadyo vai tatra yānti sahasradāḥ॥13-79-6॥
Where rivers of milk burdened with heaps of butter and thick with curd-moss flow, there they proceed in a thousand streams. (13-79-6)
gavāṃ śatasahasraṃ tu yaḥ prayacched yathāvidhi। parām ṛddhim avāpya atha sa goloke mahīyate ॥13-79-7॥
Whoever gives one hundred thousand cows according to the proper method, after attaining the highest prosperity, is then honored in Goloka. (13-79-7)
daśa cobhayataḥ pretya mātāpitrōḥ pitāmahān। dadhāti sukṛtāṃllōkānpunāti ca kulaṃ naraḥ ॥13-79-8॥
A man attains the virtuous worlds of ten ancestors on both sides (of mother and father) after death and also purifies his family. (13-79-8)
dhenvāḥ pramāṇena samapramāṇāṃ; dhenuṃ tilānām api ca pradāya. pānīyadātā ca yamasya loke; na yātanāṃ kāñcid upaiti tatra ॥13-79-9॥
One who, according to proper measure, gives a cow, even one made of sesame seeds, and who gives water, does not experience any suffering in the world of Yama. (13-79-9)
pavitram agryaṁ jagataḥ pratiṣṭhā; divaukasāṁ mātaro 'thāprameyāḥ. anvālabhed dakṣiṇato vrajec ca; dadyāc ca pātre prasamīkṣya kālam ॥13-79-10॥
The pure and excellent is the foundation of the world; they are the mothers of the gods and are immeasurable. One should take food while facing south, should proceed, and should give to the worthy recipient after carefully considering the proper time. (13-79-10)
dhenuṁ savatsāṁ kapilāṁ bhūriśṛṅgāṁ; kāṁsyopadohāṁ vasanottarīyām. pradāya tāṁ gāhati durvigāhyāṁ; yāmyāṁ sabhāṁ vītabhayo manuṣyaḥ ॥13-79-11॥
Having given a cow with a calf, tawny-colored, with great horns, equipped with a bronze milking vessel and an upper garment, a man enters the difficult-to-enter southern assembly without fear. (13-79-11)
surūpā bahurūpāś ca viśvarūpāś ca mātaraḥ। gāvo mām upatiṣṭhantām iti nityaṃ prakīrtayet ॥13-79-12॥
One should always recite: "May the cows, who are mothers, possessing beautiful, manifold, and universal forms, attend upon me." (13-79-12)
nātaḥ puṇyataram dānaṁ nātaḥ puṇyataram phalam। nāto viśiṣṭaṁ lokeṣu bhūtaṁ bhavitum arhati॥13-79-13॥
There is no gift more meritorious than this, no fruit more auspicious than this; nothing more distinguished exists or can exist among the worlds. (13-79-13)
tvacā lomnātha śṛṅgaiś ca vālaiḥ kṣīreṇa medasā। yajñaṃ vahanti sambhūya kim asti abhyadhikaṃ tataḥ ॥13-79-14॥
With their skin, hair, horns, tails, milk, and fat, they together bear the sacrifice; is there anything superior to that? (13-79-14)
yayā sarvam idaṁ vyāptaṁ jagat-sthāvara-jaṅgamam। tāṁ dhenuṁ śirasā vande bhūta-bhavvasya mātaram ॥13-79-15॥
I bow my head to that cow by whom all this world, both stationary and moving, is pervaded, the mother of past and future. (13-79-15)
guṇavacanasamuccayaikadeśo; nṛvara maya eṣa gavāṃ prakīrtitas te. na hi param iha dānam asti gobhyo; bhavanti na cāpi parāyaṇaṃ tathānyat ॥13-79-16॥
O best of men, I have declared to you only a part of the aggregate of attributes and praises of cows. Indeed, there is no greater gift here than that of cows, nor is there another supreme refuge like them. (13-79-16)
bhīṣma uvāca॥
Bhishma said.
param idam iti bhūmipo vicintya; pravara-mṛṣer vacanaṁ tato mahātmā। vyasṛjata niyatātmavān dvijebhyaḥ; subahu ca godhanam āptavāṁś ca lokān ॥13-79-17॥
The king, having considered this as supreme, thus (in mind), the great-souled one then distributed, in accordance with the eminent sage's instruction, to the Brāhmaṇas; he (who was) self-controlled gave away much wealth of cows and also the realms he had acquired. (13-79-17)
