Shloka 16
Kīṭopākhyāna: Prajā-pālana as Kṣatra-vrata and the Attainment of Brāhmaṇya
प्राणदानात् परं दानं न भूतं न भविष्यति । न हात्मन: प्रियतरं किंचिदस्तीह निश्चितम्
prāṇadānāt paraṃ dānaṃ na bhūtaṃ na bhaviṣyati | na hi ātmanaḥ priyataram kiñcid astīha niścitam |
Dijo Bhīṣma: «Ningún don ha superado jamás el don de la vida, ni lo superará. Pues aquí es cosa cierta que nada es más querido para una persona que su propio ser (su propia vida)».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The highest form of charity is prāṇadāna—protecting or giving life—because one’s own life is the dearest possession; therefore relinquishing it (or risking it) for another is the supreme ethical gift.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira about the hierarchy of gifts and virtues, emphasizing that saving or giving life surpasses all other forms of giving.