Shloka 84
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
यथाप्सु पतित: शक्र तैलबिन्दुर्विसर्पति । तथा भूमिकृतं दानं सस्ये सस्ये विवर्धते
yathāpsu patitaḥ śakra tailabindur visarpatī | tathā bhūmikṛtaṃ dānaṃ sasye sasye vivardhate ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Ô Śakra (Indra) ! De même qu’une seule goutte d’huile, tombée dans l’eau, se répand en toutes directions, de même le don de terre ne cesse de croître en valeur : chaque fois que les récoltes poussent sur cette terre, le mérite et la portée de ce don augmentent d’autant. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A land-gift is uniquely enduring: its benefit and the donor’s merit do not remain fixed but expand over time, because every new harvest generated from that land continually amplifies the donation’s value and ethical significance.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dāna-dharma (the duty and principles of giving) within the Anuśāsana Parva, he addresses Śakra (Indra) and uses a vivid simile—oil spreading on water—to explain how the fruits of donating land keep spreading and increasing through successive harvests.