Shloka 37

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

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

Devanagari script

कृत्यानामधिशस्तानामरिष्टशमनं महत्‌ | प्रायश्षित्तं महीं दत्त्वा पुनात्युभयतो दश,अत्यन्त प्रबल कृत्या (मारणशक्ति) के प्रयोगसे जो भय प्राप्त होता है, उसको शान्त करनेका सबसे महान्‌ साधन पृथ्वीका दान ही है। भूमिदानरूप प्रायश्चित्त करके मनुष्य अपने आगे-पीछेकी दस पीढ़ियोंको पवित्र कर देता है

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | kṛtyānām adhiśastānām ariṣṭaśamanaṁ mahat | prāyaścittaṁ mahīṁ dattvā punāty ubhayato daśa ||

Translation

Bhishma said: For the grave harms arising from malevolent rites and destructive acts, the greatest means of pacifying impending calamity is expiation through the gift of land. By giving the earth as a donation, a person purifies ten generations on both sides—those who came before and those who will come after.

Word by Word

• {'kṛtyānām': 'of kṛtyā—harmful magical rites/acts intended to injure', 'adhiśastānām': 'of those that are grievously condemned/heinous, severely censured', 'ariṣṭa': 'misfortune, impending danger, calamity', 'śamanaṁ': 'pacification, appeasement, calming', 'mahat': 'great, supreme', 'prāyaścittam': 'expiation, atonement, penance that removes sin/defilement', 'mahīm': 'the earth

• land (as property to be donated)', 'dattvā': 'having given, by giving', 'punāti': 'purifies, makes pure', 'ubhayataḥ': 'on both sides

• in both directions (past and future lineage)', 'daśa': 'ten (generations)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• mahī (land/earth as a gift)