Shloka 18
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
(एकागारकरीं दत्त्वा षष्टिसाहस्रमूर्थध्वग: । तावत्या हरणे पृथ्व्या नरकं द्विगुणोत्तरम् ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | ekāgārakarīṁ dattvā ṣaṣṭisāhasram ūrdhvagaḥ | tāvatyā haraṇe pṛthvyā narakaṁ dviguṇottaram || yasya viprās tu śaṁsanti sādhór bhūmiṁ sadaiva hi | na tasya śatravo rājan praśaṁsanti vasuṁdharām ||
Bhishma berkata: “Barangsiapa mendanakan tanah yang cukup untuk mendirikan sebuah rumah, ia naik ke alam-alam luhur dan tinggal di sana selama enam puluh ribu tahun. Tetapi siapa yang merampas tanah dengan ukuran yang sama, ia harus tinggal di neraka selama waktu yang dua kali lebih lama. Wahai Raja, tanah yang didanakan oleh orang saleh—yang senantiasa dipuji para brahmana—tidak dipuji oleh musuh-musuhnya; maka pengakuan orang-orang benar itulah ukuran sejati dari pahala tersebut.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Donating land—especially a house-site—is presented as a high merit leading to long residence in higher worlds, while unlawfully taking the same amount brings a doubled period of suffering in hell. The verse stresses proportional karmic consequence and the sanctity of property and gifts.
Bhishma, instructing the king on dharma, contrasts the fruit of bhūmidāna (land-gift) with the punishment for land-seizure. He adds that the lasting validation of such a gift comes from the praise of Brahmins and the righteous, not from political opponents.