Shloka 50
श्रुताश्ष बहवो5स्माभी राजानो ये दिवं गता: । दत्त्वेमां पृथिवीं कृत्स्नां ब्राह्मणेभ्यो यथाविधि,हमने सुना है कि बहुत-से राजा ब्राह्मणोंको विधिपूर्वक इस समूची पृथ्वीका दान करके स्वर्गलोकमें गये हैं
śrutāś ca bahavo 'smābhī rājāno ye divaṃ gatāḥ | dattvemāṃ pṛthivīṃ kṛtsnāṃ brāhmaṇebhyo yathāvidhi ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “We have heard of many kings who, having duly bestowed this entire earth upon the Brahmins according to prescribed rule, attained heaven. Such accounts are well known—where royal power is relinquished through lawful gift, and merit is sought through dharmic generosity rather than possession.”
युधिष्ठिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
That dharmically regulated giving (dāna done yathāvidhi) is a powerful source of merit: rulers who relinquish even the greatest possession—sovereignty over the earth—through lawful donation are remembered as attaining heaven.
Yudhiṣṭhira cites traditional reports about earlier kings: by formally donating the entire earth to Brahmins according to prescribed rites, they achieved heavenly worlds. He invokes these precedents to frame the discussion in terms of dharma, merit, and the ethical use of royal power.