"'"The Grandsire said, 'The questions thou hast asked me in respect of
kine, beginning with their gift, are such that there is none else in the
three worlds, O thou of a hundred sacrifices, who could put them! There
are many kinds of regions, O Sakra, which are invisible to even thee.
Those regions are seen by me, O Indra, as also by those women that are
chaste and that have been attached to only one husband. Rishis observant
of excellent vows, by means of their deeds of righteousness and piety,
and Brahmanas of righteous souls, succeed in repairing to them in even
their fleshy forms. Men that are observant of excellent vows behold those
regions which resemble the bright creations of dreams, aided by their
cleansed minds and by that (temporary) emancipation which succeeds the
loss of one's consciousness of body.[358] Listen, O thou of a thousand
eyes, to me as I tell thee what the attributes are with which those
regions are endued. There the very course of Time is suspended.
Decrepitude is not there, nor Fire which is omnipresent in the universe.
There the slightest evil does not occur, nor disease, nor weakness of any
kind. The kine that live there, O Vasava, obtain the fruition of every
desire which they cherish in their hearts. I have direct experience of
what I say unto thee. Capable of going everywhere at will and actually
repairing from place to place with ease, they enjoy the fruition of wish
after wish as it arises in their minds. Lakes and tanks and rivers and
forests of diverse kinds, and mansions and hills and all kinds of
delightful objects,--delightful, that is, to all creatures,--are to be
seen there. There is no region of felicity that is superior to any of
these of which I speak. All those foremost of men, O Sakra, who are
forgiving unto all creatures, who endure everything, who are full of
affection for all things, who render dutiful obedience unto their
preceptors, and who are free from pride and vanity, repair to those
regions of supreme felicity. He, who abstains from every kind of flesh,
who is possessed of a cleansed heart, who is endued with righteousness,
who worships his parents with reverence, who is endued with truthfulness
of speech and conduct, who attends with obedience upon the Brahmanas, who
is faultless in conduct, who never behaves with anger towards kine and
towards the Brahmanas, who is devoted to the accomplishment of every
duty, who serves his preceptors with reverence, who is devoted for his
whole life to truth and to gifts, and who is always forgiving towards all
transgression against himself, who is mild and self-restrained, who is
full of reverence for the deities, who is hospitable to all guests, who
is endued with compassion,--verily, he, who is adorned with these
attributes,--succeeds in attaining to the eternal and immutable region of
kine. He, who is stained with adultery, sees not such a region; nor he,
who is a slayer of his preceptor; nor he, who speaks falsely or indulges
in idle boasts; nor he, who always disputes with others; nor he who
behaves with hostility towards the Brahmanas. Indeed, that wicked wight,
who is stained with such faults fails to attain even a sight of these
regions of felicity; also he that injures his friends; also he that is
full of guile; also he that is ungrateful; also he that is a cheat; also
he that is crooked in conduct; also he that is a disregarder of religion;
also he that is a slayer of Brahmanas. Such men are incapable of
beholding in even imagination the region of kine that is the abode of
only those who are righteous of deeds. I have told thee everything about
the region of kine in minute detail, O chief of the deities! Hear now, O
thou of a hundred sacrifices, the merit that is theirs who are engaged in
making gifts of kine. He, who make gifts of kine, after purchasing them
with wealth obtained by inheritance or acquired lawfully by him, attains,
as the fruit of such an act to many regions of inexhaustible felicity.
He, who makes a gift of a cow, having acquired it with wealth won at
dice, enjoys felicity, O Sakra, for ten thousand years of celestial
measure. He, who acquires a cow as his share of ancestral wealth is said
to acquire her legitimately. Such a cow may be given away. They that make
gifts of kine so acquired obtain many eternal regions of felicity that is
inexhaustible. That person, who, having acquired a cow in gift makes a
gift of her with a pure heart, succeeds without doubt, O lord of Sachi,
in obtaining eternal regions of beatitude. That person, who, with
restrained senses speaks the truth from his birth (to the time of his
death) and who endures everything at the hands of his preceptor and of
the Brahmanas, and who practises forgiveness, succeeds in attaining to an
end that is equal to that of kine. That speech which is improper, O lord
of Sachi, should never be addressed to a Brahmana. One, again, should
not, in even one's mind, do an injury to a cow. One should, in one's
conduct, imitate the cow, and show compassion towards the cow.[359] Hear,
O Sakra, what the fruits are that become his, who is devoted to the duty
of truth. If such a person gives away a single cow, that one cow becomes
equal to a thousand kine. If a Kshatriya, possessed of such
qualifications, makes a gift of a single cow, his merit becomes equal to
that of a Brahmana's. That single cow, listen, O Sakra which such a
Kshatriya gives away becomes the source of as much merit as the single
cow that a Brahmana gives away under similar circumstances. Even this is
the certain conclusion of the scriptures. If a Vaisya, possessed of
similar accomplishments, were to make a gift of a single cow, that cow
would be equal to five hundred kine (in respect of the merit she would
produce). If a Sudra endued with humility were to make a gift of a cow,
such a cow would be equal to a hundred and twenty-five kine (in respect
of the merit it would produce). Devoted to penances and truth, proficient
(in the scriptures and all acts) through dutiful services rendered to his
preceptor, endued with forgiveness of disposition, engaged in the worship
of the deities, possessed of a tranquil soul, pure (in body and mind),
enlightened, observant of all duties, and freed from every kind of
egotism, that man who makes a gift of a cow unto a Brahmana, certainly
attains to great merit through that act of his, viz., the gift, according
to proper rites, of a cow yielding copious milk. Hence, one, with
singleness of devotion, observant of truth and engaged in humbly serving
one's preceptor, should always make gifts of kine.[360] Hear, O Sakra,
what the merit is of that person, who, duly studying the Vedas, shows
reverence for kine, who always becomes glad at sight of kine, and who,
since his birth has always bowed his head unto kine. The merit that
becomes one's by performing the Rajasuya sacrifice, the merit that
becomes one's by making gifts of heaps of gold, that high merit is
acquired by a person who shows such reverence for kine. Righteous Rishis
and high-souled persons crowned with success have said so. Devoted to
truth, possessed of a tranquil soul, free from cupidity, always truthful
in speech, and behaving with reverence towards kine with the steadiness
of a vow, the man, who, for a whole year before himself taking any food,
regularly presents some food to kine, wins the merit, by such an act, of
the gift of a thousand kine. That man, who takes only one meal a day and
who gives away the entire quantity of his other meal unto kine.--verily,
that man, who thus reverences kine with the steadiness of a vow and shows
such compassion towards them,--enjoys for ten years' unlimited felicity.
That man, who confines himself to only one meal a day and with the other
meal saved for some time purchases a cow and makes a gift of it (unto a
Brahmana), earns, through that gift, O thou of a hundred sacrifices, the
eternal merit that attaches to the gift of as many kine as there are
hairs on the body of that single cow so given away. These are
declarations in respect of the merit that Brahmanas acquire by making
gifts of kine. Listen now to the merits that Kshatriyas may win. It has
been said that a Kshatriya, by purchasing a cow in this manner and making
a gift of it unto a Brahmana, acquires great felicity for five years. A
Vaisya, by such conduct, acquires only half the merit of a Kshatriya, and
a Sudra, by such conduct, earns half the merit that a Vaisya does. That
man, who sells himself and with the proceeds thereof purchases kine and
gives them away unto Brahmanas, enjoy felicity in heaven for as long a
period as kine are seen on earth. It has been said, O highly blessed one,
that in every hair of such kine as are purchased with the proceeds
obtained by selling oneself, there is a region of inexhaustible felicity.
That man, who having acquired kine by battle makes gifts of them (unto
Brahmanas), acquires as much merit as he, who makes gifts of kine after
having purchased the same with the proceeds of selling oneself. That man,
who, in the absence of kine, makes a gift of a cow made of sesame seeds,
restraining his senses the while, is rescued by such a cow from every
kind of calamity or distress. Such a man sports in great felicity. The
mere gift of kine is not fraught with merit. The considerations of
deserving recipients, of time, of the kind of kine, and of the ritual to
be observed, should be attended to. One should ascertain the proper time
for making a gift of kine. One should also ascertain the distinctive
qualifications of both Brahmanas (who are to receive them) and of kine
themselves (which are to be given away). Kine should not be given unto
one in whose abode they are likely to suffer from fire or the sun. One,
who is rich in Vedic lore, who is of pure lineage, who is endued with a
tranquil soul, who is devoted to the performance of sacrifices, who fears
the commission of sin, who is possessed of varied knowledge, who is
compassionate towards kine, who is mild in behaviour, who accords
protection unto all that seek it of him, and who has no means of
sustenance assigned unto him, is regarded as a proper person for
receiving a gift of kine. Unto a Brahmana who has no means of sustenance,
unto him while he is exceedingly afflicted for want of food (in a time,
of famine, for example) for purposes of agriculture, for a child born in
consequence of Homa, for the purposes of his preceptor, for the
sustenance of a child born (in the ordinary course), should a cow be
given. Verily, the gift should be made at a proper time and in a proper
place[361]. Those kine, O Sakra, whose dispositions are well-known, which
have been acquired as honoraria for knowledge, or which have been
purchased in exchange for other animals (such as goats, sheep, etc.), or
which have been won by prowess of arms, or obtained as marriage-dower; or
which have been acquired by being rescued from situations of danger, or
which incapable of being maintained by their poor owner have been made
over for careful keep to another's house are, for such reasons, regarded
as proper objects of gift. Those kine which are strong of body, which
have good dispositions, and which emit an agreeable fragrance, are
applauded in the matter of gifts. As Ganga is the foremost of all
streams, even so is a Kapila cow the foremost of all animals of the
bovine breed. Abstaining from all food and living only upon water for
three nights, and sleeping for the same period upon the bare earth, one
should make gifts of kine unto Brahmanas after having gratified them with
other presents. Such kine, freed from every vice should, at the same
time, be accompanied by healthy calves that have not been weaned. Having
made the gift, the giver should live for the next three days in
succession on food consisting only of the products of the cow.[362] By
giving away a cow that is of good disposition, that quietly suffers
herself to be milked, that always brings forth living and hale calves, and
that does not fly away from the owner's abode, the giver enjoys felicity
in the next world for as many years as there are hairs on her body.
Similarly, by giving unto a Brahmana a bull that is capable of bearing
heavy burden, that is young and strong and docile, that quietly bears the
yoke of the plough, and that is possessed of such energy as is sufficient
to undergo even great labour one attains to such regions as are his who
gives away ten kine. That person, who rescues kine and Brahmanas (from
danger) in the wilderness, O Kausika, becomes himself rescued from every
kind of calamity. Hear what his merit is.[363] The merit such a man
acquires is equal to the eternal merit of a Horse-sacrifice. Such a
person attains to whatever end he desires at the hour of death. Many a
region of felicity,--in fact, whatever happiness he covets in his
heart,--becomes attainable to him in consequence of such an act of his.
Verily, such man, permitted by kine, lives honoured in every region of
felicity. That man, who follows kine every day in the woods himself
subsisting the while on grass and cowdung and leaves of trees, his heart
freed from desire of fruit, his senses restrained from every improper
object and his mind purified of all dross,--that man,--O thou of a
hundred sacrifices, lives in joy and freed from the dominion of desire in
my region or in any other region of happiness that he wishes, in the
company of the deities!'"'"