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 ||
ビーシュマは言った。「家一軒を建てるに足る土地を施す者は上界に昇り、六万年そこに住む。だが同じ分量の土地を奪う者は、その倍の時を地獄に住まねばならぬ。王よ、婆羅門たちが常に称える徳ある人の土地の施与は、彼の敵には称えられない。ゆえに、正しき者の承認こそが、その功徳の真の尺度である。」
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.