छत्रोपानहदानफलप्रशंसा — Praise of the Merit of Donating Umbrella and Footwear
यथा चाक्षय्यतां प्राप्तं पुण्यतां च यथा गतम् | सर्वमेतदशेषेण प्रवक्ष्यामि नराधिप,नरेश्वर! इन दोनों वस्तुओंका दान किस तरह अक्षय होता है, तथा ये किस प्रकार पुण्यकी प्राप्ति करानेवाली मानी गयी हैं। इन सब बातोंका मैं पूर्णरूपसे वर्णन करूँगा
yathā cākṣayyatāṁ prāptaṁ puṇyatāṁ ca yathā gatam | sarvam etad aśeṣeṇa pravakṣyāmi narādhipa nara-īśvara ||
ビーシュマは言った。「王よ、人々の主よ、施しがいかにして尽きることなきものとなり、またいかなる仕方で功徳の成就へと導くのか、余すところなく汝に説き明かそう。これら一切を漏らさず述べる。」
भीष्म उवाच
Bhishma promises a complete explanation of how acts of giving can yield imperishable results (akṣayya-phala) and how such giving is understood to generate merit (puṇya). The emphasis is on the conditions and manner of donation that make its ethical and spiritual fruit enduring.
In the Anushasana Parva’s instructional setting, Bhishma—lying on his bed of arrows—continues advising King Yudhishthira. Here he introduces the next portion of his discourse, stating that he will fully describe how certain gifts become inexhaustible in their reward and how they lead to merit.