Shloka 57
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
(ब्राह्माणार्थे गवार्थे वा राष्ट्रघातेडथ स्वामिन: । कुलस्त्रीणां परिभवे मृतास्ते भूमिदै: समा: ।।) जो ब्राह्मणोंके लिये, गौओंके लिये, राष्ट्रके विनाशके अवसरपर स्वामीके लिये तथा जहाँ कुलांगनाओंका अपमान होता हो, वहाँ उन सबकी रक्षाके लिये युद्धमें प्राण त्याग करते हैं, वे ही भूमिदान करनेवालोंके समान पुण्यके भागी होते हैं ।। ये शूरा निहता युद्धे स्वर्याता रणगृद्धिन: । सर्वे ते विबुधश्रेष्ठ नातिक्रामन्ति भूमिदम्
bhīṣma uvāca |
brāhmaṇārthe gavārthe vā rāṣṭraghāte ’tha svāminaḥ |
kulastrīṇāṃ paribhave mṛtās te bhūmidaiḥ samāḥ ||
ye śūrā nihatā yuddhe svaryātā raṇagṛddhinaḥ |
sarve te vibudhaśreṣṭha nātikrāmanti bhūmidam ||
Bhishma said: Those who lay down their lives in battle to protect Brahmins, to protect cows, to defend the realm when it is threatened with ruin, to stand for their lord, and to prevent the dishonor of noble women—such men are equal in merit to those who give land in charity. O best of the wise, all those heroic warriors, slain in war and intent on the battle, attain heaven and do not fall short of the fruit gained by a giver of land.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma equates self-sacrifice in a righteous protective war—defending Brahmins, cows, the kingdom, one’s rightful lord, and the honor of respectable women—with the high religious merit of land-donation. The verse frames such death as dharmic and heaven-leading, emphasizing protection as a supreme duty.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he praises warriors who die while protecting key pillars of social and moral order, stating that their spiritual reward matches that of celebrated charitable acts like gifting land.