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 ||
Disse Bhīṣma: Por essa dádiva, Soma (a Lua) é nutrido e, por isso mesmo, o grande oceano também cresce. E Vāsava (Indra) concede ao doador uma recompensa igual a um quarto do fruto de um sacrifício Aśvamedha — ensinando que um único ato justo de dar pode gerar mérito vasto, cósmico e sacrificial.
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.