Shloka 66
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
ददाति य: समुद्रान्तां पृथिवीं शस्त्रनिर्जिताम् । त॑ जना: कथयन्तीह यावद् भवति गौरियम्,जो समुद्रपर्यना पृथ्वीको शस्त्रोंसे जीतकर दान देता है, उसकी कीर्ति संसारके लोग तबतक गाया करते हैं, जबतक यह पृथ्वी कायम रहती है
dadāti yaḥ samudrāntāṃ pṛthivīṃ śastra-nirjitām | taṃ janāḥ kathayantīha yāvad bhavati gaur iyam ||
Bhishma sprach: Wer diese vom Ozean umgrenzte Erde mit der Macht der Waffen errungen und sie dann verschenkt, dessen Ruhm wird von den Menschen erzählt und gepriesen, solange diese Erde besteht.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the highest form of generosity—giving away even a hard-won kingdom—creates lasting merit and an enduring reputation. Ethical greatness is measured not only by conquest or power, but by the capacity to relinquish what one possesses for a higher dharmic ideal.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs on dharma, especially gifts and righteous conduct. Here he praises the extraordinary donor-king who, after conquering the earth by arms, gives it away; such a deed becomes a story people keep retelling for as long as the world lasts.