Shloka 15
Bhūmi-dānasya Māhātmya
The Pre-eminence of Land-Gift
निदाघकाले पानीयं तडागे यस्य तिष्ठति । वाजिमेधफलं तस्य फल वै मुनयो विदु:,जिसके तालाबमें ग्रीष्म ऋतुतक पानी रुका रहता है, उसे अश्वमेध यज्ञका फल प्राप्त होता है--ऐसा मुनियोंका मत है
nidāghakāle pānīyaṁ taḍāge yasya tiṣṭhati | vājimedhaphalaṁ tasya phalaṁ vai munayo viduḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「夏の酷暑にあっても、その者の池に水が残り人々が用い得るなら、牟尼たちは、その功徳はアシュヴァメーダ祭（Aśvamedha）の果報に等しいと知る。水を衆生のために保つことは、最高の儀礼の報いに比せられる至上のダルマとして讃えられる。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ensuring a reliable supply of water for others—so that a pond retains water even through summer—is upheld as an exceptionally meritorious act, equated with the highest sacrificial reward (Aśvamedha).
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he cites the sages’ valuation of public-benefit works: maintaining a water reservoir is praised as yielding immense spiritual merit.