Shloka 25
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
भर्त॒नि:श्रेयसे युक्तास्त्यक्तात्मानो रणे हता: । ब्रह्मलोकगता: सिद्धा नातिक्रामन्ति भूमिदम्
bhartṛ-niḥśreyase yuktās tyaktātmāno raṇe hatāḥ | brahmalokagatāḥ siddhā nātikrāmanti bhūmidam ||
Disse Bhīṣma: Mesmo aqueles que, devotados ao bem de seu senhor, renunciam à própria vida e são mortos no campo de batalha—e mesmo os seres perfeitos (siddhas) que alcançam Brahmaloka—não superam o mérito do homem que doa terra em caridade (bhūmidāna).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse ranks bhūmidāna (donation of land) as an exceptionally powerful dharmic act: its merit is said to be so great that even heroic warriors who die for their lord’s welfare, and even siddhas who reach Brahmaloka, cannot surpass the land-donor’s spiritual reward.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on gifts and dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he praises the supremacy of certain forms of charity. Here he contrasts battlefield self-sacrifice and high celestial attainment with the merit of donating land, asserting the latter’s unsurpassed value.