Shloka 19

Devanagari script

यत्‌ किंचित्‌ पुरुष: पापं कुरुते वृत्तिकर्शित: । अपि गोचर्ममात्रेण भूमिदानेन पूयते,जीविका न होनेके कारण मनुष्य क्लेशमें पड़कर जो कुछ पाप कर डालता है, वह सारा पाप गोचर्मके बराबर भूमि-दान करनेसे धुल जाता है

Transliteration

yat kiñcit puruṣaḥ pāpaṃ kurute vṛttikarśitaḥ | api gocarmamātreṇa bhūmidānena pūyate ||

Translation

Bhishma said: Whatever sin a man commits when he is driven to it by the hardship of earning a livelihood—pressed and worn down by want—can be cleansed away by the gift of land, even if that land is only as much as the measure of a cowhide.

Word by Word

यत्whatever (which)

किंचित्anything, some

पुरुषःa man

पापम्sin, wrongdoing

कुरुतेdoes, commits

वृत्तिकर्शितःdistressed/harassed by livelihood (need)

अपिeven, also

गोचर्ममात्रेणby (a gift of land) only as much as a cowhide

भूमिदानेनby the gift of land

पूयतेis purified, is cleansed

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

puruṣa (a man/person)

go-carma (cowhide)

bhūmi-dāna (gift of land)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sins committed under the compulsion of poverty and livelihood-pressure are treated with moral compassion, and a concrete act of charity—especially gifting land, even a very small measure—serves as a powerful means of purification and ethical repair.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he explains to his listener that hardship can drive people into wrongdoing, and he recommends land-gift (bhūmi-dāna) as an expiatory, purifying act that restores merit.