Shloka 32
Devanagari script
न चोषरां न निर्दग्धां महीं दद्यात् कथंचन
Transliteration
na coṣarāṃ na nirdagdhāṃ mahīṃ dadyāt kathaṃcana
Translation
ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഏതു സാഹചര്യത്തിലും ഉപ്പുകെട്ടി ഉഷരമായോ വന്ധ്യമായോ ഉള്ള ഭൂമിയും, കത്തിപ്പോയി നിർഫലമായ ഭൂമിയും ദാനമായി നൽകരുത്।
Word by Word
नnot
न:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन
चand/also
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
उषराम्barren, saline (land)
उषराम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootउषरा
FormFeminine, Accusative, Singular
नnot
न:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन
निर्दग्धाम्burnt up, scorched
निर्दग्धाम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootनिर्दग्ध
FormFeminine, Accusative, Singular
महीम्earth, land
महीम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootमही
FormFeminine, Accusative, Singular
दद्यात्should give
दद्यात्:
TypeVerb
Rootदा
FormOptative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada
कथंचनin any way; ever (at all)
कथंचन:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootकथंचन
Speaker
भीष्म उवाच
Characters & Entities
B
BhīṣmaM
mahī (land/earth)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
A gift must be genuinely beneficial and honest in intent; donating worthless or harmful land (saline or burnt) is not righteous charity but a breach of dāna-dharma.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (especially rules of giving), he specifies what should not be donated, warning against offering land that cannot sustain life or livelihood.