Shloka 38
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
पुनाति य इदं वेद वेदवादं तथैव च । प्रकृति: सर्वभूतानां भूमिर्वैश्वानरी मता
punāti ya idaṁ veda vedavādaṁ tathaiva ca | prakṛtiḥ sarvabhūtānāṁ bhūmir vaiśvānarī matā ||
Sinabi ni Bhishma: Sinumang tunay na nakaaalam sa aral na ito—na isang doktrinang Veda rin—ay nagiging tagapaglinis. Ang Daigdig ay itinuturing na unang pinagmulan ng lahat ng nilalang, at kinikilalang “Vaiśvānara,” na pinamumunuan ng pangkalahatang Apoy, si Agni. Kaya’t ang kaalaman sa banal na salaysay na ito ay pinupuri bilang nakapagpapabanal, na inuugnay ang kadalisayang etikal sa paggalang sa Daigdig bilang iisang pinagmulan ng buhay at sa paggalang kay Agni bilang banal na tagapamahala.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises sacred knowledge as a purifier and frames the Earth as the universal origin (prakṛti) of beings, with Vaiśvānara/Agni as its presiding divine principle—linking ethical purity to reverence for cosmic order.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues instructing on dharma and sacred merits; here he extols the sanctifying power of knowing a particular sacred teaching and states a cosmological identification of Earth with Vaiśvānara (universal fire) under Agni’s lordship.