Mahabharata 13.72.22

13.72.22

satye dharme ca niratastasya śakra phalaṃ śṛṇu |
gosahasreṇa samitā tasya dhenurbhavatyuta || 22 ||

That person, who, having acquired a cow in gift makes a gift of her with a pure heart, succeeds without doubt, O lord of Sachi, in obtaining eternal regions of beatitude. That person, who, with restrained senses speaks the truth from his birth (to the time of his death) and who endures everything at the hands of his preceptor and of the Brahmanas, and who practises forgiveness, succeeds in attaining to an end that is equal to that of kine. That speech which is improper, O lord of Sachi, should, never be addressed to a Brahmana. One, again, should not, in even one's mind, do an injury to a cow. One should, in one's conduct, imitate the cow, and show compassion towards the cow. Hear, O Sakra, what the fruits are that become his, who is devoted to the duty of truth. If such a person gives away a single cow, that one cow becomes equal to a thousand kine. If a Kshatriya, possessed of such qualifications, makes a gift of a single cow, his merit becomes equal to that of a Brahmana's. That single cow, listen, O Sakra which such a Kshatriya gives away becomes the source of as much merit as the single cow that a Brahmana gives away under similar circumstances. Even this is the certain conclusion of the scriptures.