Shloka 47
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
यथा सस्यानि रोहन्ति प्रकीर्णानि महीतले । तथा कामा: प्ररोहन्ति भूमिदानसमार्जिता:
yathā sasyāni rohanti prakīrṇāni mahītale | tathā kāmāḥ prarohanti bhūmidānasamārjitāḥ ||
மண்ணில் சிதறிய விதைகள் முளைப்பதுபோல், நிலதானத்தால் சேர்க்கப்பட்ட புண்ணிய-செல்வத்தினால் ஆசைகளும் மீண்டும் முளைக்கின்றன.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma uses an agrarian simile to warn that prosperity and merit connected with great gifts (like land-donation) can still become a cause for renewed craving. Ethical giving should be joined with inner restraint; otherwise, the very conditions created by merit may nourish fresh desires.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including the fruits and nuances of dāna. Here he frames a caution: like seeds scattered on soil, desires can re-emerge and multiply when supported by the gains and satisfactions that come from meritorious acts such as gifting land.