Shloka 58
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
विबुधश्रेष्ठ! मनमें युद्धके लिये उत्साह रखनेवाले जो शूरवीर रणभूमिमें मारे जाकर स्वर्गलोकमें जाते हैं, वे सब-के-सब भूमिदाताका उल्लंघन नहीं कर सकते ।।
bhartur niḥśreyase yuktās tyaktātmāno raṇe hatāḥ | brahmalokagatā muktā nātikrāmanti bhūmidam ||
Bhīṣma disse: Ó melhor dos sábios, aqueles que, voltados para o bem supremo de seu senhor, renunciam ao apego ao corpo e são mortos em batalha, ficam livres do pecado e alcançam Brahmaloka; contudo, nem mesmo eles superam o mérito do doador de terra.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the exalted merit of dying in battle for one’s lord’s highest welfare—leading to purification and Brahmaloka—does not exceed the religious merit attributed to donating land (bhūmidāna). The verse elevates dāna, especially land-gift, as a supreme dharmic act.
Bhishma continues his instruction on dharma and gifts, contrasting the heavenly reward of heroic self-sacrifice in war with the even greater, unsurpassed merit of the land-donor, thereby reinforcing the primacy of bhūmidāna within the discourse on charity.