That man who, desiring to attain to prosperity, reads with a pure
heart and body these verses on the origin of kine, becomes cleansed of
all his sins and attains to prosperity and children and wealth and
animals. He who makes a gift of a cow, O king, always succeeds in
acquiring the merits that attach to gifts of Havya and Kavya, to the
offer of oblations of water unto the Pitris, to other religious acts
whose performance brings peace and happiness, to the gift of vehicles and
cloths, and to the cherishing of children and the old."'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'Hearing these words of his grandsire, Pritha's
son, viz., the royal Yudhishthira of Ajamida's race, uniting with his
brothers, began to make gifts of both bulls and kine of different colours
unto foremost of Brahmanas. Verily, for the purpose of subduing regions
of felicity in the next, and winning great fame, king Yudhishthira
performed many sacrifices and, as sacrificial presents, gave away
hundreds of thousands of kine unto such Brahmanas.'"

SECTION LXXVIII

"'Bhishma said, "In days of yore, king Saudasa born of Ikshvaku's race,
that foremost of eloquent men, on one occasion approached his family
priest, viz., Vasishtha, that foremost of Rishis, crowned with ascetic
success, capable of wandering through every region, the receptacle of
Brahma, and endued with eternal life and put him the following question.

"'"Saudasa said, 'O holy one, O sinless one, what is that in the three
worlds which is sacred and by reciting which at all times a man may
acquire high merit?'"

"'Bhishma said, "Unto king Saudasa who stood before him with head bent in
reverence, the learned Vasishtha having first bowed unto kine and
purified himself (in body and mind), discoursed upon the mystery relating
to kine, a topic that is fraught with result highly beneficial to all
persons.

"'"Vasishtha said, 'Kine are always fragrant. The perfume emanated by the
exudation of the Amytis agallochum issues out of the bodies. Kine are the
great refuge of all creatures. Kine constitute the great source of
blessing unto all.[374] Kine are the Past and the Future. Kine are the
source of eternal growth. Kine are the root of Prosperity. Anything given
to kine is never lost. Kine constitute the highest food. They are the
best Havi for the deities. The Mantras called Swaha and Vashat are
forever established in kine. Kine constitute the fruit of sacrifices.
Sacrifices are established in kine. Kine