Shloka 29
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
कृशाय मप्रियमाणाय वृत्तिग्लानाय सीदते । भूमिं वृत्तिकरीं दत्त्वा सत्री भवति मानव:,दुर्बल, जीविकाके बिना दुखी और भूखके कष्टसे मरते हुए ब्राह्मणको उपजाऊ भूमिदान करनेवाला मनुष्य यज्ञका फल पाता है
kṛśāya m apriyamāṇāya vṛttiglānāya sīdate | bhūmiṁ vṛttikarīṁ dattvā satrī bhavati mānavaḥ ||
Bhīṣma sprach: Wenn ein Mensch ausgemergelt ist, dahinsiecht und unter der Last fehlender Lebensgrundlage zusammensinkt, dann wird derjenige, der ihm fruchtbares, lebensspendendes Land schenkt, einem gleich, der ein yajña vollzogen hat—und erlangt Verdienst und Frucht des Opfers.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sustaining someone who is collapsing from lack of livelihood—by giving productive land that generates ongoing support—is treated as equivalent in merit to performing a sacrificial rite (satra/yajña). The verse elevates practical, life-preserving generosity as a high form of dharma.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, especially the ethics of dāna (gifting). Here he explains the spiritual fruit of giving fertile land to a destitute, weakened person who lacks means of subsistence.