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What is its essence? Who is its presiding deity? What are its fruits? Why is it regarded as the foremost of all things? For what reason do men of wisdom applaud the gift of gold? For what reason is gold regarded as the best Dakshinas in all sacrifices? Why also is gold regarded as a cleanser superior to earth itself and kine? Why, indeed, is it regarded so superior as a Dakshina?
Alas, I had supposed that great is the grief felt by men indulging in loud lamentations for the death of a child and for the corpse on a crematorium, like that of kine bereft of calves. Today, however, I understand what the measure of grief is of human beings on earth. Witnessing their great affection I had shed tears myself. One should always exert oneself.
They never make gifts of wealth or robes, or viands, or gold, or kine, or any kind of food. Those men who are disinclined to relieve the distress of others, who are full of cupidity, who have no faith in the scriptures, and who never make gifts, verily, these men of little understanding, O goddess, have to sink in Hell.
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. Hear what his merit is.
O best of men, it hath been said by learned persons that men, however sinful, by bathing in Prithudaka, go to heaven. O best of the Bharatas, there in that tirtha is another called Madhusrava. Bathing there, O king, one obtaineth the merit of giving away a thousand kine. One should then proceed, O king, to that celebrated and sacred tirtha where the Saraswati uniteth with the Aruna.
I wonder if she thinks of them, And how the old time seems, If ever the pines of Ramoth wood Are sounding in her dreams. I see her face, I hear her voice: Does she remember mine? And what to her is now the boy Who fed her father's kine? What cares she that the orioles build For other eyes than ours, That other hands with nuts are filled, And other laps with flowers? O playmate in the golden time!
They meet little resistance scarce any. Too far from the settlements to fear pursuit in full confidence they have not been followed, the red robbers have been abandoning themselves to pleasure, spending the night in a grand gluttonous feast, furnished by the captured kine.
Soon we saw that so far, at any rate, Fortune was playing into our hands, since herd after herd of kine were driven into the valley during the afternoon and enclosed in the stock-kraals. Doubtless Bangu intended on the morrow to make his half-yearly inspection of all the cattle of the tribe, many of which were herded at a distance from his town.
"Uttara said, 'Let the Kurus rob the Matsyas of all their wealth. Let men and women, O Vrihannala, laugh at me. Let my kine perish, let the city be a desert. Let me stand exposed before my father. Still there is no need of battle."
Indeed O Yudhishthira, a person goes to such regions as the reward of his making gifts of kine. Those regions which have for their lords Pushan, and the Maruts of great puissance, are attained to by givers of kine. In affluence the royal Varuna is regarded as pre-eminent. The giver of kine attains to affluence like that of Varuna himself.
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