Shloka 56
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
न भूमिदानाद् देवेन्द्र परं किंचिदिति प्रभो । विशिष्टमिति मन्यामि यथा प्राहुर्मनीषिण:,प्रभो! देवेन्द्र! जैसा कि मनीषी पुरुष कहते हैं, मैं भूमिदानसे बढ़कर दूसरे किसी दानको नहीं मानता हूँ
na bhūmidānād devendra paraṁ kiñcid iti prabho | viśiṣṭam iti manyāmi yathā prāhur manīṣiṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô Seigneur, ô Indra parmi les rois, je tiens qu’il n’est point de don supérieur au don de la terre. C’est bien là le plus éminent des dons, ainsi que l’affirment les sages.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that donating land is considered the highest form of charity because it supports long-term livelihood, sacrifice, hospitality, and social stability; thus it is praised by the wise as pre-eminent among gifts.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma and gifts, Bhīṣma addresses the king with honorifics and emphasizes, as part of his counsel, that bhūmidāna (land-gift) surpasses other donations according to established wise tradition.