Highest Among All Gifts — Manusmriti 4.233

Among all gifts (water, food, cows, land, clothing, sesame, gold and ghee), the gift of sacred knowledge stands highest.

सर्वेषामेव दानानां ब्रह्मदानं विशिष्यते । वार्यन्नगोमहीवासस्तिलकाञ्चनसर्पिषाम् ॥

sarvesham eva dananam brahma-danam vishishyate | vary-anna-go-mahi-vasas-tila-kancana-sarpisham ||
How to say it: sar-ve-SHAAM e-va daa-NAA-naam brah-ma-DAA-nam vi-shi-SHYA-te. vaa-ry-an-na-go-ma-HEE-vaa-sas ti-la-kaan-cha-na-sar-pi-SHAAM.

Among all gifts (water, food, cows, land, clothing, sesame, gold and ghee), the gift of sacred knowledge stands highest.

The list is the whole menu of ancient charity: water, grain, cattle, land, cloth, sesame, gold, clarified butter. Knowledge is placed above all of them. Brahma here means the Veda, the sacred teaching; later teachers widened the idea to any knowledge that frees or heals.