Shloka 16

Taḍāga-Phala and Vṛkṣāropaṇa

Merit of Ponds and Tree-Planting

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच छत्रोपानहमेतत्‌ तु सूर्येणैतत्‌ प्रवर्तितम्‌ । पुण्यमेतद्िख्यातं त्रिषु लोकेषु भारत

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | chatropānaham etat tu sūryeṇaitat pravartitam | puṇyam etad ikhyātaṃ triṣu lokeṣu bhārata ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „O Bharata, der Gebrauch des Schirms und das Tragen von Schuhwerk wurden zuerst von der Sonne in Gang gesetzt. Die Gabe dieser beiden Dinge gilt in den drei Welten als verdienstvoll und reinigend.“

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'chatra': 'umbrella

• parasol (protective covering from sun/rain)', 'upānaha': 'footwear

• shoe/sandal', 'etat tu': 'but this

• indeed this (emphatic)', 'sūryeṇa': 'by the Sun (Sūrya)', 'pravartitam': 'set in motion

• made customary', 'puṇyam': 'merit

• virtuous, purifying religious good', 'ikhyātam': 'proclaimed/celebrated as

• well-known as', 'triṣu lokeṣu': 'in the three worlds (heaven, earth, and the intermediate realm)', 'bhārata': 'O Bharata (address to Yudhiṣṭhira

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Bharata (Yudhiṣṭhira as addressee)
• Sūrya (the Sun)
• chatra (umbrella)
• upānaha (footwear)
• tri-loka (three worlds)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that donating practical protective items—an umbrella and footwear—is a highly meritorious act. By linking their origin to Sūrya, the verse sacralizes everyday welfare-giving as dharmic charity that brings puṇya recognized across the three worlds.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma and gifts, Bhishma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira (as ‘Bhārata’) and explains the divine origin of the practices of using an umbrella and wearing shoes, concluding that gifting these items is praised as purifying and auspicious.