Shloka 25
वैश्यस्यैते यदि गुणास्तस्य पठचशतं भवेत् । शूद्रस्यापि विनीतस्य चतुर्भागफलं स्मृतम्,यदि वैश्यमें भी उपर्युक्त गुण हों तो उसे भी एक गोदान करनेपर ब्राह्मणकी अपेक्षा (आधे भाग) पाँच सौ गौओंके दानका फल मिलता है और विनयशील शूद्रको ब्राह्मणके चौथाई भाग अर्थात् ढाई सौ गौओंके दानका फल प्राप्त होता है
vaiśyasyāite yadi guṇās tasya pañcaśataṁ bhavet | śūdrasyāpi vinītasya caturbhāgaphalaṁ smṛtam |
Bhīṣma said: “If a Vaiśya possesses these very virtues, then for him the merit is reckoned as five hundred (cows)—even when the outward act is only a single cow-gift. And for a well-disciplined, humble Śūdra, the fruit is remembered as a fourth share—equivalent to two hundred and fifty cows. The teaching is that the ethical quality of the giver—self-control, humility, and right conduct—amplifies the spiritual value of charity beyond its material measure.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The merit of a gift is not determined only by the object given, but by the giver’s inner virtues and discipline; ethical refinement increases the spiritual fruit even for those outside the Brahmin class.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dāna-dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, he explains graded results of cow-gifting: a virtuous Vaiśya gains merit equated to five hundred cows, and a humble, well-disciplined Śūdra gains a quarter-share of the Brahmin-standard merit (stated as two hundred and fifty cows in the received explanation).