Shloka 64
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
मधुसर्पि:प्रवाहिण्य: पयोदधिवहास्तथा । सरितस्तर्पयन्तीह सुरेन्द्र वसुधाप्रदम्,देवेन्द्र! यहाँ पृथ्वीदान करनेवाले पुरुषको परलोकमें मधु, घी, दूध और दहीकी धारा बहानेवाली नदियाँ तृप्त करती हैं
Bhīṣma uvāca: madhusarpiḥpravāhiṇyaḥ payodadhivahās tathā | saritas tarpayantīha surendra vasudhāpradam ||
Bhishma said: “O Indra, in the next world the giver of land is satisfied and refreshed by rivers that flow with streams of honey and ghee, and likewise by rivers bearing milk and curds.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the exceptional merit of vasudhā-dāna (donating land): such charity is said to yield abundant, nourishing, and divine enjoyments in the afterlife, symbolized by rivers flowing with honey, ghee, milk, and curds that ‘satisfy’ the donor.
Bhishma is instructing (addressing Indra as a rhetorical witness) about the fruits of charitable acts. Here he describes the posthumous reward for one who gives land: in the other world, wondrous rivers of rich substances provide satisfaction and comfort to that donor.