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 ||
Sabi ni Bhishma: “Kung paanong ang mga binhing nagkalat sa lupa ay sumisibol, gayon din ang mga pagnanasa ay muling tumutubo—yaong mga pagnanasang natipon at napalago sa bisa ng kabutihang-loob at kasaganahang nakamit sa pag-aalay ng lupain. Ang yaman at kasiyahang bunga ng gayong handog, kapag hindi napigil, ay nagiging bagong lupa para sa panibagong pagnanasa.”
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.