Shloka 75
Nīti-saṅgraha: Conduct, Association, Kali-yuga Decline, and the Supremacy of Vidyā
वृथा वृष्टिः समुद्रस्य वृथा तृप्तस्य भोजनम् / वृथा दानं समृद्धस्य नीचस्य सुकृतं वथा
vṛthā vṛṣṭiḥ samudrasya vṛthā tṛptasya bhojanam / vṛthā dānaṃ samṛddhasya nīcasya sukṛtaṃ vathā
المطر المصبوب في المحيط عبثٌ لا ثمرة له؛ والطعام لمن شبع سلفًا عبث. والصدقة لمن هو غنيّ أصلًا عبث؛ وكذلك البرّ إذا فُعل لأجل وضيعٍ غير مستحق.
Lord Vishnu (in discourse to Garuda/Vainateya)
Concept: Dana and effort must be directed with discernment; giving where there is no need or no receptivity yields little fruit.
Vedantic Theme: Viveka and yukti in karma: right action depends on desha-kala-patra; intention alone is insufficient without appropriateness.
Application: Prioritize charity to the needy and worthy causes; avoid performative giving; match help to real need and capacity to benefit.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: natural feature
Related Themes: Garuda Purana (niti/dharma passages): emphasis on patra (worthy recipient) and meaningful dana
FAQs
This verse stresses that giving should be guided by discernment: charity that does not meet a real need or goes to an unworthy recipient becomes spiritually “fruitless,” yielding little or no merit.
It implies that karmic outcomes depend not only on the act (giving/doing good) but also on context and eligibility—right action aligned with dharma produces meaningful punya, while misdirected acts are considered ineffective.
Give where it genuinely helps: support the needy, the virtuous, and dharmic causes; avoid performative or convenience-based giving that merely benefits those already affluent or empowers harmful, unethical conduct.