Shloka 24

Bhūmi-dānasya Māhātmya

The Pre-eminence of Land-Gift

Devanagari script

एता जात्यस्तु वृक्षाणां तेषां रोपे गुणास्त्विमे । कीर्तिश्व मानुषे लोके प्रेत्य चैव फलं शुभम्‌

Transliteration

etā jātyas tu vṛkṣāṇāṁ teṣāṁ rope guṇās tv ime | kīrtiś ca mānuṣe loke pretya caiva phalaṁ śubham ||

Translation

These are the kinds of trees. Now I shall declare the merits that arise from planting them: the one who plants trees wins enduring renown in the world of men, and after death attains an excellent and auspicious reward.

Word by Word

• {'etāḥ': 'these', 'jātyaḥ': 'kinds, species (classes by birth/nature)', 'tu': 'but, indeed (emphatic/contrastive particle)', 'vṛkṣāṇām': 'of trees', 'teṣām': 'of them', 'rope': "in the planting

• by planting (locative of 'ropa')", 'guṇāḥ': 'merits, virtues, beneficial qualities', 'ime': 'these (present, about to be described)', 'kīrtiḥ': 'fame, good reputation', 'ca': 'and', 'mānuṣe loke': 'in the human world', 'pretya': 'after departing (after death)', 'eva': 'indeed, certainly', 'phalam': 'fruit

• result, reward', 'śubham': 'auspicious, beneficial, good'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• trees (vṛkṣāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Planting trees is a dharmic act that benefits society and nature; it brings good reputation in this life and auspicious karmic reward after death.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, instructing on dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, transitions from listing types of trees to explaining the spiritual and social benefits gained by those who plant them.