Shloka 10
Sāma (Sāntva) and Dāna: The Brāhmaṇa’s Conciliatory Release from a Rākṣasa
यथा हि सुकृते क्षेत्र फलं विन्दति मानव: । एवं दत्त्वा श्रुववति फलं दाता समश्ञुते
yathā hi sukṛte kṣetre phalaṁ vindati mānavaḥ | evaṁ dattvā śrutavati phalaṁ dātā samaśnute ||
Wie ein Mensch eine Ernte gewinnt, wenn er Samen in ein wohlbereitetes Feld sät, so hat auch der, der einem gelehrten Brāhmaṇa eine Gabe darbringt, gewiss Anteil an dem daraus erwachsenden Verdienst. Die Lehre betont, dass der Wert der Wohltätigkeit nicht allein im Geben liegt, sondern auch in der Eignung und Gelehrsamkeit des Empfängers, die die Gabe geistlich fruchtbar macht.
मैत्रेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity yields its full spiritual ‘fruit’ when offered to a worthy, learned recipient—just as seed yields a harvest when sown in a well-prepared field. The donor then surely shares in the merit produced by that gift.
Maitreya is instructing about the principles of dāna (giving). He uses an agricultural analogy—prepared field and seed—to explain how giving to a śrutavat (learned) Brahmin becomes a reliable cause of beneficial results for the giver.