Shloka 59
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
पज्च पूर्वा हि पुरुषा: षडन्ये वसुधां गता: । एकादश दददभूमिं परित्रातीह मानव:
pañca pūrvā hi puruṣāḥ ṣaḍ anye vasudhāṃ gatāḥ | ekādaśa dadad bhūmiṃ paritrāty iha mānavaḥ ||
Bhīṣma bersabda: “Seseorang yang menghadiahkan tanah menjadi penyelamat bagi garis keturunannya: ia mengangkat lima generasi leluhur dan enam generasi keturunan yang akan lahir di bumi. Dengan demikian, melalui derma tanah, sebelas generasi memperoleh keselamatan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Land-gift (bhūmi-dāna) is presented as a powerful dharmic act whose merit extends beyond the giver, benefiting and 'delivering' multiple generations of one’s lineage—five ancestors and six descendants, totaling eleven.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma and gifts (dāna) within Anushasana Parva, he explains the far-reaching spiritual and ethical fruit of donating land, emphasizing its intergenerational impact.