Shloka 57
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
(ब्राह्माणार्थे गवार्थे वा राष्ट्रघातेडथ स्वामिन: । कुलस्त्रीणां परिभवे मृतास्ते भूमिदै: समा: ।।
bhīṣma uvāca |
brāhmaṇārthe gavārthe vā rāṣṭraghāte ’tha svāminaḥ |
kulastrīṇāṃ paribhave mṛtās te bhūmidaiḥ samāḥ ||
ye śūrā nihatā yuddhe svaryātā raṇagṛddhinaḥ |
sarve te vibudhaśreṣṭha nātikrāmanti bhūmidam ||
毗湿摩说道：凡在战场上舍身者——为护持婆罗门、为护持牛群、在国土濒临覆亡之际捍卫邦国、为其君主而战、并阻止贵族妇女受辱——其功德与施地者等同。噢，智者之最！这些英勇战士虽战死沙场、心志专注于征战，皆得升天，其所得果报并不逊于施地之人。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma equates self-sacrifice in a righteous protective war—defending Brahmins, cows, the kingdom, one’s rightful lord, and the honor of respectable women—with the high religious merit of land-donation. The verse frames such death as dharmic and heaven-leading, emphasizing protection as a supreme duty.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he praises warriors who die while protecting key pillars of social and moral order, stating that their spiritual reward matches that of celebrated charitable acts like gifting land.