Shloka 81
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
इक्षुभि: संततां भूमिं यवगोधूमशालिनीम् । गो<श्ववाहनपूर्णा वा बाहुवीर्यादुपार्जिताम्
ikṣubhiḥ santatāṃ bhūmiṃ yavagodhumaśālinīm | go’śvavāhanapūrṇā vā bāhuvīryād upārjitām |
Bhīṣma dit : « Une étendue de terre—couverte de canne à sucre, riche en orge et en blé, ou pleine de bétail, de chevaux et de chars—lorsqu’un roi l’a gagnée par la force de ses bras puis la donne en aumône, il atteint des mondes impérissables. Un tel don est appelé “sacrifice de la terre” (bhūmi-yajña), car il transforme le fruit de la conquête en offrande conforme au dharma, plutôt qu’en simple possession. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that wealth gained through power—especially conquered territory—should be redirected into dharma through generous giving. Donating fertile, resource-rich land transforms political or martial gain into a sacrificial act (bhūmi-yajña) that yields enduring spiritual merit.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on gifts and righteous conduct, he describes exemplary land suitable for donation—productive with crops and wealth in livestock and transport—and states that a king who wins such land by valor and then donates it attains imperishable realms, with the act praised as a form of yajña.