Shloka 20
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
येडपि संकीर्णकर्माणो राजानो रौद्रकर्मिण: । तेभ्य: पवित्रमाख्येयं भूमिदानमनुत्तमम्
yed api saṅkīrṇakarmāṇo rājāno raudrakarmiṇaḥ | tebhyaḥ pavitram ākhyeyaṁ bhūmidānam anuttamam ||
Bhīṣma dit : Même aux rois dont les actes sont mêlés et confus, et qui se livrent à des actions dures et violentes, il faut proclamer le don souverainement purificateur — le don de la terre, charité sans égale — afin qu’ils soient délivrés du péché.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even rulers inclined to harshness and sin should be instructed in the supreme purifier—donating land—because such charity is presented as a powerful means of moral purification and release from wrongdoing.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma continues his instruction on dharma, especially gifts and expiations. Here he emphasizes that the teaching of bhūmidāna is relevant even for violent or morally compromised kings, as a remedial path toward purification.