Shloka 30
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
यथा धावति गौर्वत्सं स्रवन्ती वत्सला पय: । एवमेव महाभाग भूमिर्भवति भूमिदम्
yathā dhāvati gaur vatsaṁ sravantī vatsalā payaḥ | evam eva mahābhāga bhūmir bhavati bhūmidam ||
Bhīṣma dit : «De même qu’une vache, débordante d’affection, court vers son veau tandis que son lait s’écoule pour le nourrir, de même—ô noble—la Terre se hâte d’apporter le bien-être à celui qui fait don de terres.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that bhūmidāna (donating land) is uniquely nourishing and beneficial: the Earth herself ‘runs’ to reward the donor, just as a mother-cow instinctively rushes to feed her calf. The simile frames charity as a living moral economy—generosity invites immediate, sustaining welfare.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and gifts. Here he uses a vivid pastoral image—cow and calf—to describe how the Earth responds to one who gives land, emphasizing the swift, affectionate return of auspicious results to the donor.