Shloka 71
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
इन्द्र! मनुष्य पृथ्वीका दान करनेके साथ ही समुद्र, नदी, पर्वत और सम्पूर्ण वन--इन सबका दान कर देता है (अर्थात् इन सबके दानका फल प्राप्त कर लेता है) ।।
indra! manuṣyaḥ pṛthivyā dānaṃ kṛtvā samudra-nadī-parvata-samasta-vana-sarvasyaiva dāna-phalaṃ prāpnoti. taḍāgāny udapānāni srotāṃsi ca sarāṃsi ca, sneḥān sarva-rasāṃś caiva dadāti vasudhāṃ dadat.
Bhīṣma dice: «¡Oh Indra! Cuando una persona dona la tierra (un terreno) en caridad, obtiene el mérito como si también hubiera donado el océano, los ríos, las montañas y todos los bosques. Más aún: quien dona tierra es tenido por quien ha otorgado estanques, pozos, manantiales y corrientes, lagos, sustancias nutritivas como el ghee, y toda clase de “sabores” o esencias; así, el don de la tierra se presenta como un don total que sostiene la vida y el sustento.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that donating land is an exceptionally comprehensive form of charity because land sustains waters, forests, and all sources of nourishment; therefore its gift is credited with the merit of many other life-supporting gifts.
In Anushasana Parva’s discourse on dāna-dharma, Bhishma instructs (addressing ‘Indra’ as a lofty addressee) that the donor of land receives the fruits of donating multiple natural resources—waters, forests, and nourishing substances—emphasizing the exalted status of land-gift.