Shloka 55
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
ब॒हस्पतिर्वाच सुवर्णदानं गोदानं भूमिदानं च वृत्रहन् (विद्यादानं च कन्यानां दानं पापहरं परम् ।) दददेतान् महाप्राज्ञ: सर्वपापै: प्रमुच्यते
bṛhaspatir uvāca suvarṇadānaṁ godānaṁ bhūmidānaṁ ca vṛtrahan (vidyādānaṁ ca kanyānāṁ dānaṁ pāpaharaṁ param) dadad etān mahāprājñaḥ sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate
Bṛhaspati disse: “Ó matador de Vṛtra (Indra), as dádivas de ouro, de vacas e de terra—bem como a dádiva do conhecimento e a entrega de donzelas em casamento—são tidas como supremamente destruidoras do pecado. O homem verdadeiramente sábio que concede tais dádivas é libertado de todos os pecados.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that certain forms of dāna—gold, cows, land, knowledge, and kanyādāna—are considered exceptionally powerful for moral purification, and that a wise giver is said to be freed from sins through such generosity.
Within Bhīṣma’s discourse on dharma, a statement attributed to Bṛhaspati is cited, addressed to Indra (called Vṛtrahan), listing major meritorious gifts and asserting their sin-destroying efficacy.