Shloka 16
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
ये चान्ये भूमिमिच्छेयु: कुर्युरेवं न संशय: । यः साधोर्भूमिमादत्ते न भूमिं विन्दते तु सः,दूसरे भी जो लोग भावी जन्ममें भूमि पानेकी इच्छा करें, उन्हें भी इस जन्ममें इसी तरह भूमिदान करना चाहिये। इसमें संशय नहीं है। जो छल-बलसे श्रेष्ठ पुरुषकी भूमिका अपहरण कर लेता है, उसे भूमिकी प्राप्ति नहीं होती
ye cānye bhūmim iccheyuḥ kuryur evaṃ na saṃśayaḥ | yaḥ sādhōr bhūmim ādatte na bhūmiṃ vindate tu saḥ ||
Bhishma said: “And others too, who wish to obtain land in a future birth, should in this very life give land in the same manner—there is no doubt about it. But the one who, by deceit or force, seizes the land of a virtuous man does not attain land as a blessed possession; he is deprived of its true gain.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that one who desires prosperity and rightful possession of land should practice bhūmi-dāna (donation of land) and that forcibly or deceitfully taking a virtuous person’s land leads to loss of merit and failure to truly attain land’s benefits.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira within the Anushasana Parva’s dharma-teachings, he emphasizes the religious-ethical value of land-gifting and condemns land-grabbing from the righteous as adharma with negative karmic consequences.