Shloka 7
Strī-dharma: Śiva’s Inquiry, Umā’s Consultation, and Gaṅgā’s Instruction
सोमश्न वर्धते तेन समुद्रश्न महोदधि: । अश्वमेधचतुर्भागं फलं सृजति वासव:,उस दानसे चन्द्रमा तथा महोदथधि समुद्रकी वृद्धि होती है और उस दाताको इन्द्र अश्वमेध यज्ञका चतुर्थाश फल देते हैं
somaśnaḥ vardhate tena samudraś ca mahodadhiḥ | aśvamedha-caturbhāgaṁ phalaṁ sṛjati vāsavaḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: Sa handog na iyon, napalalakas si Soma (ang Buwan), at dahil dito’y lumalago rin ang dakilang karagatan. At si Vāsava (Indra) ay nagkakaloob sa nagbigay ng gantimpalang katumbas ng ikaapat na bahagi ng bunga ng sakripisyong Aśvamedha—na nagtuturo na kahit iisang matuwid na pagbibigay ay makapagdudulot ng napakalawak na kabutihang-loob, kosmiko at pangsakripisyo.
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that righteous giving (dāna) has immense spiritual efficacy: it sustains cosmic forces (symbolized by Soma and the ocean) and earns the donor a significant share of sacrificial merit—here quantified as one-fourth of the fruit of an Aśvamedha.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dāna-dharma, Bhīṣma explains to Yudhiṣṭhira the extraordinary results of a particular act of charity, stating that it nourishes Soma and increases the ocean, and that Indra rewards the donor with a quarter of the merit of the Aśvamedha sacrifice.