Shloka 29

Devanagari script

ये स्वधर्मादपेतेभ्य: प्रयच्छन्त्यल्पबुद्धय: । शतं वर्षाणि ते प्रेत्य पुरीषं भुज्जते जना:,“जो मन्दबुद्धि मानव अपने धर्मसे गिरे हुए मनुष्योंको धन देते हैं, वे मरनेके बाद सौ वर्षोंतक विष्ठा भोजन करते हैं

Transliteration

ye svadharmādapetebhyaḥ prayacchanty alpabuddhayaḥ | śataṃ varṣāṇi te pretya purīṣaṃ bhuñjate janāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Die von geringem Urteilsvermögen, die (Reichtum oder Unterstützung) Menschen geben, die von ihrem eigenen Dharma abgefallen sind—nach dem Tod, so heißt es, essen sie hundert Jahre lang Unrat. Der Vers warnt: Wohltätigkeit, die den Unrechten gilt und dazu dient, Adharma zu nähren, wird ethisch befleckt und bringt schmerzliche Folgen statt Verdienst.

Word by Word

येwho (those who)

स्वधर्मात्from (their) own duty

अपेतेभ्यःto those fallen away (from it)

प्रयच्छन्तिgive, bestow

अल्पबुद्धयःof little understanding, foolish

शतम्a hundred

वर्षाणिyears

तेthey

प्रेत्यhaving died; after death

पुरीषम्excrement

भुञ्जतेeat, partake of

जनाःpeople, men

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Charity is not automatically meritorious; it must be guided by discernment and dharma. Supporting those who have abandoned righteous conduct is portrayed as enabling adharma, bringing severe posthumous suffering rather than spiritual merit.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana delivers a moral injunction within the didactic discourse of the Śānti Parva, emphasizing standards for righteous giving and warning of karmic consequences when gifts are misdirected toward the dharma-fallen.