Shloka 19
गोप्रदान-भूमिदान-विधि
Gopradāna–Bhūmidāna Guidelines and Recipient Eligibility
प्रदानं सर्वदानानां शकटस्य विशाम्पते । एवमाह महाभाग: शाण्डिल्यो भगवानृषि:,प्रजानाथ! महाभाग भगवान् शाण्डिल्य ऋषि ऐसा कहते हैं कि 'शकट (बैलगाड़ी) का दान उपर्युक्त सब दानोंके बराबर है”
pradānaṁ sarvadānānāṁ śakaṭasya viśāmpate | evam āha mahābhāgaḥ śāṇḍilyo bhagavān ṛṣiḥ || prajānātha! mahābhāga bhagavān śāṇḍilya ṛṣiḥ evaṁ kathayati—“śakaṭa (bal-gāṛī) dānaṁ uparyukta-sarva-dānaiḥ samam” iti |
Bhishma said: “O lord of the people, O ruler among the common folk: the gift of a cart is declared to be equal to all gifts. Thus spoke the venerable and illustrious sage Shandilya.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That a single, highly useful gift—here, a cart—can be ethically and spiritually weighty, even ‘equal to all gifts,’ because it enables sustained practical benefit (transport, livelihood support, service to many) rather than momentary relief.
In Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma continues advising the king, citing the authority of the sage Shandilya to underscore the exceptional merit of donating a cart.