The verse and its meaning · Stotras · Stotras — Gita Dhyanam

Cows, Calf and Milk

Gita Dhyanam 4

सर्वोपनिषदो गावो दोग्धा गोपालनंदनः । पार्थो वत्सः सुधीर्भोक्ता दुग्धं गीतामृतं महत्

Meaning · English

All the Upanishads are the cows; the cowherd's son, Krishna, is the one who milks; Arjuna is the calf; the wise one drinks; the milk is the Gita's great nectar.

The Upanishads, the old teachings at the close of the Vedas, are pictured as a herd of cows full of milk. Krishna, raised among cowherds, is the one who milks them. Arjuna is the calf. A cow lets her milk down when her calf comes near, so his need is what starts the flow. The one who drinks is anyone clear-minded enough to take it in. The milk itself is the Gita, called a great nectar, drawn from the whole herd at once.

At a family dinner, a child asks a grandparent what really matters. The grandparent puts down the fork and answers slowly, drawing on a lifetime. The question was the child's, but everyone at the table goes home with the answer. Arjuna's question is the child's; the Gita is the answer, and every reader sits at that table.

अर्थ · हिन्दी

In this book

• Before: The Charioteer's Two Hands · Gita Dhyanam 3
• Next: Devaki's Joy, Everyone's Teacher · Gita Dhyanam 5
• All of Stotras · Ask Krishna about it

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