Shloka 33
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
यथा चन्द्रमसो वृद्धिरहन्यहनि जायते । तथा भूमिकृतं दानं सस्ये सस्ये विवर्धते,जैसे चन्द्रमाकी कला प्रतिदिन बढ़ती है, उसी प्रकार दान की हुई पृथ्वीमें जितनी बार फसल पैदा होती है, उतना ही उसके पृथ्वी-दानका फल बढ़ता जाता है
yathā candramaso vṛddhir ahany ahani jāyate | tathā bhūmi-kṛtaṁ dānaṁ sasye sasye vivardhate ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Assim como a lua cresce dia após dia em seu crescente, assim também o mérito de doar terras continua a multiplicar-se: cada vez que uma colheita nasce dessa terra, o fruto do dom aumenta de novo.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Land-gift (bhūmi-dāna) is portrayed as uniquely fruitful: its merit does not remain static but renews and multiplies repeatedly, just as the moon waxes day by day—each harvest from the donated land becomes a fresh occasion for the donor’s merit to increase.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira about the ethics and rewards of various forms of giving. Here he uses a natural image—the moon’s daily waxing—to explain why donating productive land yields ever-growing spiritual benefit.