Shloka 23
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
सुवर्ण रजतं वस्त्र मणिमुक्तावसूनि च । सर्वमेतन्महाप्राज्ञो ददाति वसुधां ददत्
suvarṇa-rajataṁ vastraṁ maṇi-muktāvasūni ca | sarvam etan mahāprājño dadāti vasudhāṁ dadat ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Or et argent, vêtements, gemmes et perles, et toutes autres richesses encore : celui qui est vraiment sage, en donnant la terre (des terres) en aumône, est tenu pour avoir tout donné. Ainsi le don de la terre est loué, car il renferme le mérite de bien d’autres dons. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the superior, comprehensive merit of vasudhā-dāna (donating land): a wise person who gives land is said to have effectively given gold, silver, garments, jewels, pearls, and other treasures—i.e., to have gained the fruits of many forms of charity through one eminent gift.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising on dāna (charitable giving), praising land-gift as an especially weighty donation whose merit is treated as inclusive of multiple other valuable gifts.