Shloka 6
गोप्रदान-भूमिदान-विधि
Gopradāna–Bhūmidāna Guidelines and Recipient Eligibility
निदाघकाले पानीयं यस्य तिष्ठत्यवारितम् । स दुर्ग विषमं कृत्स्नं न कदाचिदवाप्लुते
Bhīṣma uvāca — nidāghakāle pānīyaṁ yasya tiṣṭhaty avāritam | sa durga-viṣamaṁ kṛtsnaṁ na kadācid avāplute ||
Dijo Bhishma: En el tiempo del gran calor, aquel cuya provisión de agua potable permanece disponible sin impedimento—cuyo estanque no se agota—nunca cae en una calamidad abrumadora y áspera.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ensuring unobstructed access to drinking water—especially in summer—is a high form of charity; its merit is said to shield the donor from severe and destabilizing संकट (calamity).
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and gifts; here he praises the lasting benefit of providing dependable drinking water (such as through ponds or reservoirs) and states its protective karmic result.