Shloka 31

Bhūmi-dānasya Māhātmya

The Pre-eminence of Land-Gift

Devanagari script

तस्मात्‌ तडागे सद्वृक्षा रोप्या: श्रेयोडर्थिना सदा । पुत्रवत्‌ परिपाल्याश्ष पुत्रास्ते धर्मत: स्मृता:

Transliteration

tasmāt taḍāge sadvṛkṣā ropyāḥ śreyorthinā sadā | putravat paripālyāś ca putrās te dharmataḥ smṛtāḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Darum soll ein Mann, der sein eigenes Wohlergehen sucht, stets gute Bäume an den Ufern des Teiches pflanzen, den er hat ausheben lassen, und sie wie eigene Söhne pflegen; denn nach dem Maßstab des Dharma gelten diese Bäume als Söhne.“

Word by Word

• {'tasmāt': 'therefore

• for that reason', 'taḍāge': 'in/at a pond, tank, reservoir', 'sadvṛkṣāḥ': 'good/excellent trees', 'ropyāḥ': 'should be planted (gerundive

• obligation)', 'śreyorthinā': 'by one who seeks śreyas (welfare, the good, auspicious benefit)', 'sadā': 'always', 'putravat': 'like a son

• as one’s own child', 'paripālyāḥ': 'to be protected, nurtured, maintained', 'ca': 'and', 'putrāḥ': 'sons', 'te': 'those (trees)', 'dharmataḥ': 'according to dharma

• from the standpoint of righteousness/merit', 'smṛtāḥ': 'are remembered/considered/held to be'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• taḍāga (pond/tank)
• sadvṛkṣa (trees)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Public benefaction is a form of dharma: one should create and sustain life-supporting resources—like ponds and shade-giving trees—and maintain them with the same responsibility one shows toward one’s children, since such trees are counted as ‘sons’ in terms of religious merit and social good.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he advises the listener that after having a pond dug, one should plant and carefully tend good trees along its banks, emphasizing their dharmic value and the lasting benefit they provide to others.