Shloka 15
Bhūmi-dānasya Māhātmya
The Pre-eminence of Land-Gift
निदाघकाले पानीयं तडागे यस्य तिष्ठति । वाजिमेधफलं तस्य फल वै मुनयो विदु:,जिसके तालाबमें ग्रीष्म ऋतुतक पानी रुका रहता है, उसे अश्वमेध यज्ञका फल प्राप्त होता है--ऐसा मुनियोंका मत है
nidāghakāle pānīyaṁ taḍāge yasya tiṣṭhati | vājimedhaphalaṁ tasya phalaṁ vai munayo viduḥ ||
Dijo Bhishma: “Si aun en el ardor del verano el agua permanece en el estanque de una persona, los sabios declaran que esa persona obtiene un mérito igual al fruto del sacrificio Aśvamedha. La enseñanza alaba el sostener agua para el bien de todos como un dharma supremo, comparable a las más altas recompensas rituales.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ensuring a reliable supply of water for others—so that a pond retains water even through summer—is upheld as an exceptionally meritorious act, equated with the highest sacrificial reward (Aśvamedha).
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he cites the sages’ valuation of public-benefit works: maintaining a water reservoir is praised as yielding immense spiritual merit.