Shloka 35
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
मामेवादत्त मां दत्त मां दत्त्वा मामवाप्स्थथ | अस्मिल्लॉँके परे चैव तद् दत्तं जायते पुन:
mām evādatta māṁ datta māṁ dattvā mām avāpsyatha | asmiṁl loke pare caiva tad dattaṁ jāyate punaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Donnez-moi, moi seul ; recevez-moi, moi seul. En me donnant, vous me retrouverez. Car tout ce qu’un homme donne en ce monde, ce don même lui revient—ici et dans l’au-delà.» (Dans la gāthā citée, la Terre prend la parole et enseigne l’éthique du don : l’offrande véritable ne se perd jamais ; elle revient comme le bien propre de celui qui donne, dans les deux mondes.)
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the reciprocity of dāna: what one gives does not vanish but returns as benefit and merit, yielding results both in this life and in the next. Giving ‘the Earth’ symbolizes offering what sustains all, and the assurance that righteous giving becomes one’s own gain through dharma and karma.
Bhishma, in his instruction on dharma, cites a traditional gāthā in which the Earth speaks. The Earth urges people to ‘give me’ and promises that by giving, one truly ‘obtains’—because gifts reappear as fruits of action across both worlds.