By this, one is sure
to be cleansed of all the sins one may commit in course of the day. They
who make gifts of a thousand kine, departing from this world, proceed to
the regions of the Gandharvas and the Apsaras where there are many
palatial mansions made of gold and where the celestial Ganga, called the
current of Vasu, runs. Givers of a thousand kine repair thither where run
many rivers having milk for their water, cheese for their mire, and curds
for their floating moss. That man who makes gifts of hundreds of
thousands of kine agreeably to the ritual laid down in the scriptures,
attains to high prosperity (here) and great honours in Heaven. Such a man
causes both his paternal and maternal ancestors to the tenth degree to
attain to regions of great felicity, and sanctifies his whole race. Kine
are sacred. They are the foremost of all things in the world. They are
verily the refuge of the universe. They are the mothers of the very
deities. They are verily incomparable. They should be dedicated in
sacrifices. When making journeys, one should proceed by their right
(i.e., keeping them to one's left). Ascertaining the proper time, they
should be given away unto eligible persons. By giving away a Kapila cow
having large horns, accompanied by a calf and a vessel of white brass for
milking her, and covered with a piece of cloth, one succeeds in entering,
freed from fear, the palace of Yama that is so difficult to enter.
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