Shloka 8

दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च

Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food

Devanagari script

यथा दानं तथा भोग इति थधर्मेषु निश्चय: । संग्रामे वा तनुं जहायाद्‌ दद्याच्च पृथिवीमिमाम्‌

Transliteration

yathā dānaṃ tathā bhoga iti dharmeṣu niścayaḥ | saṅgrāme vā tanuṃ jahāyād dadyāc ca pṛthivīm imām ||

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „In Fragen des Dharma ist dies die feststehende Entscheidung: Wie man gibt, so ist man zum Genuss berechtigt. Darum — ob man im Kampf das eigene Leben hingeben muss oder diese Erde selbst verschenken soll — man handle nach diesem Grundsatz.“

Word by Word

यथाas, just as

दानम्giving, gift

तथाso, likewise

भोगःenjoyment, use

इतिthus (quotative)

तत्that

धर्मेषुin (such) duties / matters of dharma

निश्चयःdecision, settled conclusion

संग्रामेin battle

वाor

तनुम्body

जहायात्should abandon, should give up

दद्यात्should give

चand

पृथिवीम्the earth, land, kingdom

इमाम्this

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

pṛthivī (the earth/kingdom)

saṅgrāma (battle/war)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts a dharmic principle of proportionality: one’s rightful enjoyment (bhoga) should correspond to one’s giving (dāna). Ethical entitlement is grounded in generosity and sacrifice, even to the extent of giving up life in battle or relinquishing sovereignty/land when dharma demands it.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, in his instruction on dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, states a firm conclusion about conduct: generosity legitimizes enjoyment, and a righteous person—especially in a kṣatriya context—must be prepared for the highest sacrifices, whether on the battlefield or through great gifts such as the earth/kingdom.