Shloka 155
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
ददात्युदितमात्रे यस्तस्य पाप्मा विधूयते । मध्याद्वे ददतो रुक्मं हन्ति पापमनागतम्
dadāty uditamātre yas tasya pāpmā vidhūyate | madhyādve dadato rukmaṃ hanti pāpam anāgatam |
Vasiṣṭha sprach: Wer (Gold) im allerersten Augenblick des Sonnenaufgangs gibt, dessen angesammelte Sünde wird abgewaschen. Und wer zur Mittagszeit Gold gibt, vernichtet Sünden, die noch nicht entstanden sind—jene, die sonst in Zukunft heraufkämen.
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dāna (charitable giving), especially of gold, becomes spiritually potent when performed at auspicious times: giving at sunrise cleanses past sin, while giving at midday prevents or destroys future sin. It frames charity as both purification and moral protection.
Vasiṣṭha is instructing about dharma related to gifts (dāna), specifying how the timing of a donation affects its ethical and karmic fruit—sunrise for removing accumulated demerit and midday for averting demerit yet to arise.