Shloka 57
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
(ब्राह्माणार्थे गवार्थे वा राष्ट्रघातेडथ स्वामिन: । कुलस्त्रीणां परिभवे मृतास्ते भूमिदै: समा: ।।
bhīṣma uvāca |
brāhmaṇārthe gavārthe vā rāṣṭraghāte ’tha svāminaḥ |
kulastrīṇāṃ paribhave mṛtās te bhūmidaiḥ samāḥ ||
ye śūrā nihatā yuddhe svaryātā raṇagṛddhinaḥ |
sarve te vibudhaśreṣṭha nātikrāmanti bhūmidam ||
Bhīṣma dijo: Quienes entregan la vida en batalla para proteger a los brahmanes, para proteger a las vacas, para defender el reino cuando se cierne su ruina, para sostener a su señor y para impedir la deshonra de las mujeres nobles—ésos son iguales en mérito a quienes dan tierra en caridad. Oh el mejor de los sabios, todos esos guerreros heroicos, caídos en la guerra y ávidos del combate, alcanzan el cielo y no quedan por debajo del fruto obtenido por el dador de tierra.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma equates self-sacrifice in a righteous protective war—defending Brahmins, cows, the kingdom, one’s rightful lord, and the honor of respectable women—with the high religious merit of land-donation. The verse frames such death as dharmic and heaven-leading, emphasizing protection as a supreme duty.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he praises warriors who die while protecting key pillars of social and moral order, stating that their spiritual reward matches that of celebrated charitable acts like gifting land.