Shloka 69
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
अपि कृत्वा नर: पापं भूमिं दत्त्वा द्विजातये । समुत्सूजति तत् पापं जीर्णा त्वचमिवोरग:
api kṛtvā naraḥ pāpaṁ bhūmiṁ dattvā dvijātaye | samutsṛjati tat pāpaṁ jīrṇāṁ tvacam ivoragaḥ ||
Bhishma dit : Même si un homme a commis un péché, en donnant la terre à un « deux-fois-né » (un brahmane), il rejette ce péché comme le serpent se dépouille de sa vieille peau.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A sincere, dharmic gift of land to a qualified dvija is presented as a powerful means of expiation: it enables one to abandon accumulated sin as decisively as a snake sheds an old skin.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he explains to the listener that charitable giving—specifically bhūmidāna to a dvija—can cleanse prior wrongdoing, illustrated through the vivid image of a serpent discarding its worn skin.