Shloka 27
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
मृत्युरवैकिड्करो दण्डस्तमो वह्नि: सुदारुण: | घोराश्न॒ दारुणा: पाशा नोपसर्पन्ति भूमिदम्
mṛtyur avaikidkaro daṇḍas tamo vahniḥ sudāruṇaḥ | ghorāśna dāruṇāḥ pāśā nopasarpanti bhūmidam ||
భీష్ముడు పలికెను—కాలప్రేరిత మృత్యువు, శిక్షాదండం, అంధకారం, అత్యంత దారుణమైన అగ్ని, భయంకరమైన పాశాలు—ఇవి భూమిదానం చేసిన పురుషుని సమీపించవు।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that bhūmi-dāna (donation of land) is an exceptionally powerful act of dharma whose merit protects the donor from fearful afflictions—symbolized by death, punishment, darkness, fire, and binding nooses—i.e., from severe suffering and adverse karmic outcomes.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, especially the fruits of various gifts. Here he extols land-giving by declaring that terrifying forces cannot come near the giver of land, emphasizing the superior spiritual efficacy of this form of charity.