Shloka 7
Strī-dharma: Śiva’s Inquiry, Umā’s Consultation, and Gaṅgā’s Instruction
सोमश्न वर्धते तेन समुद्रश्न महोदधि: । अश्वमेधचतुर्भागं फलं सृजति वासव:,उस दानसे चन्द्रमा तथा महोदथधि समुद्रकी वृद्धि होती है और उस दाताको इन्द्र अश्वमेध यज्ञका चतुर्थाश फल देते हैं
somaśnaḥ vardhate tena samudraś ca mahodadhiḥ | aśvamedha-caturbhāgaṁ phalaṁ sṛjati vāsavaḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: Dengan pemberian itu, Soma (Dewa Bulan) dipelihara, dan dengan demikian lautan agung turut bertambah. Dan Vāsava (Indra) menganugerahkan kepada penderma ganjaran yang menyamai seperempat hasil korban Aśvamedha—mengajar bahawa satu perbuatan memberi yang benar dapat melahirkan pahala yang luas, bersifat kosmik dan setara dengan korban suci.
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that righteous giving (dāna) has immense spiritual efficacy: it sustains cosmic forces (symbolized by Soma and the ocean) and earns the donor a significant share of sacrificial merit—here quantified as one-fourth of the fruit of an Aśvamedha.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dāna-dharma, Bhīṣma explains to Yudhiṣṭhira the extraordinary results of a particular act of charity, stating that it nourishes Soma and increases the ocean, and that Indra rewards the donor with a quarter of the merit of the Aśvamedha sacrifice.