Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.64.13
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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payaḥ - vinīḥ
—
milk-laden
Payas (milk) + the suffix denoting possession. Go-dāna is meaningless if the cow is dry — the gift must serve the recipient's actual life. Gauḍīyas extend this principle to all dāna: the gift must fit the recipient's real need.
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nyāya - arjitāḥ
—
earned by fair means
Nyāya (justice, propriety) + arjita (earned). The dharma-śāstra requires that what is given in charity be acquired honestly. Nṛga emphasises this — making the failure in verse 16 all the sharper: an honest cowman who, despite his care, gave away one cow he did not own.
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kapilāḥ
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brown / tawny
The kapilā cow is held especially auspicious in Vedic ritual; even today gauḍīya pūjā prefers her milk for abhiṣeka. Nṛga's gifts were of the best variety.
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sa - vatsāḥ
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with their calves
Sa (with) + vatsa (calf). A cow given without her calf is dāna-doṣa — the gift must not break the cow's bond with her young. Nṛga observed every detail of correct dāna. The point is precisely how easily aparādha slipped past every observance.
In this verse he describes in detail the cows.
After describing the unlimited number of cows he describes their qualities. They all had good natures (śīla), being easily controlled by their master. They were beautiful with good nourishment (rūpa). They always gave plentiful milk (guṇa). There are ten types of kapila cows. suvarṇa-kapilā pūrvā dvitīyā gaura-piṅgalā tṛtīya caiva raktākṣī caturthī guḍa-piṅgalā pañcamī bahu-varṇā syāt ṣaṣtḥī syāt śveta-piṅgalā saptamī śveta-piṅgākṣi aṣṭamī kṛṣna-piṅgalā navamī pātalā jñeyā daśamī pucccha-piṅgalā etā daśa samākhyātāḥ kapilās te varānane sarvāścaitā mahābhāgās tārayanti na sāṁśayaḥ The first is golden brown, the second is pale brown, the third has red eyes, the fourth is deep brown, the fifth is multi-colored, the sixth is white and brown, the seventh has light brown eyes, the eighth is black and brown, the ninth is pink and the tenth has a brown tail. O beautiful woman! These ten are called kapila cows. They are all most auspicious. By donating these cows one crosses saṁsāra without doubt. The order of the list of qualities is with increasing excellence. This will be stated later also. Not only that but they were well decorated with gold horns and silver hooves, and with cloth on their backs and ornaments. They had garlands made of jewels around their necks and were accompanied by calves. Thus they gave milk. They had been gathered by lawful means. He again states that he gave cows to reinforce his previous statement.
- Am I giving in charity what I no longer want, or what is actually worthy?
- How would giving the best I have, dressed with care, change the act itself?
A gift is read by Bhagavān not in the giving but in the texture of it — young cows, milk-laden, gentle-tempered, honestly earned, golden-horned, silver-hooved. Every adjective is a moral check. And yet, with all these checks in place, one cow that did not belong to the giver was enough to undo it.
My note
Source: vedabase.io