Shloka 56
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
न भूमिदानाद् देवेन्द्र परं किंचिदिति प्रभो । विशिष्टमिति मन्यामि यथा प्राहुर्मनीषिण:,प्रभो! देवेन्द्र! जैसा कि मनीषी पुरुष कहते हैं, मैं भूमिदानसे बढ़कर दूसरे किसी दानको नहीं मानता हूँ
na bhūmidānād devendra paraṁ kiñcid iti prabho | viśiṣṭam iti manyāmi yathā prāhur manīṣiṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “O Lord, O Indra among kings, I hold that there is nothing superior to the gift of land. This, indeed, is regarded as the most distinguished of gifts, just as the wise declare.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that donating land is considered the highest form of charity because it supports long-term livelihood, sacrifice, hospitality, and social stability; thus it is praised by the wise as pre-eminent among gifts.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma and gifts, Bhīṣma addresses the king with honorifics and emphasizes, as part of his counsel, that bhūmidāna (land-gift) surpasses other donations according to established wise tradition.