Shloka 73

Devanagari script

अग्निष्टोमप्र भूतिभिरिष्टवा च स्वाप्तदक्षिणै: । न तत्फलमवाप्रोति भूमिदानाद्‌ यदश्षुते,बहुत-सी दक्षिणाओंसे युक्त अग्निष्टोम आदि यज्ञोंद्वारा यजन करके भी मनुष्य उस फलको नहीं पाता, जो उसे भूमिदानसे मिल जाता है

Transliteration

agniṣṭoma-prabhūtibhir iṣṭvā ca svāpta-dakṣiṇaiḥ | na tat-phalam avāpnoti bhūmi-dānād yad aśnute ||

Translation

ビーシュマは言った。「供物に富み、祭官へのダクシナー（謝礼）も十分に授けて、アグニシュトーマのような祭祀を行ったとしても、土地の布施によって得られる果報と同じものは得られない。」

Word by Word

अग्निष्टोमप्रभूतिभिःby (sacrifices) beginning with Agniṣṭoma

इष्ट्वाhaving sacrificed / having performed (a sacrifice)

चand

स्वाप्तदक्षिणैःwith well-bestowed fees (dakṣiṇās)

नnot

तत्that

फलम्fruit, result

अवाप्नोतिobtains, attains

भूमिदानात्from (the act of) giving land; by land-gift

यत्which

अश्नुतेenjoys, obtains

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Agniṣṭoma (sacrifice)

Bhūmidāna (gift of land)

Dakṣiṇā (priestly fee)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That donating land yields a superior and more enduring spiritual reward than even lavish Vedic sacrifices like the Agniṣṭoma, emphasizing dharma expressed through sustaining others’ livelihood.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, in his instruction on dharma, compares ritual merit with charitable merit and declares that the fruit of bhūmidāna surpasses the fruit of expensive yajñas performed with abundant dakṣiṇās.