Shloka 103
नारद–शुक संवादः
Impermanence, Svabhāva, and Śuka’s Resolve for Yoga
ददाति च नरश्रेष्ठ प्रतिगृह्लाति यच्च ह | ददात्यव्यक्त इत्येतत् प्रतिगृह्नाति तच्च वै
dadāti ca naraśreṣṭha pratigṛhṇāti yac ca ha | dadāty avyaktam ity etat pratigṛhṇāti tac ca vai ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „O Bester der Menschen, was immer gegeben und was immer empfangen wird—das nennt man das Unmanifeste. Eben dieses Unmanifeste empfängt auch. Die Weisen erklären jenes Brahman für ewig und reinigend; darum wirst auch du, indem du Es erkennst, gereinigt. In der Gabe sind Geber, Gabe, Billigung der Gabe und Empfänger in Wahrheit ein und dieselbe unmanifeste höchste Wirklichkeit: Sie allein gibt, und Sie allein nimmt.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches a non-dual vision of ethical action: in true understanding, the giver, the gift, the act of giving (including approving it), and the receiver are not ultimately separate; all are the Unmanifest Supreme Reality (Brahman/Paramatman). Knowing this purifies the mind and elevates charity from mere transaction to spiritual realization.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhisthira on dharma after the war. Here he explains the inner metaphysical basis of dāna (charity), urging Yudhisthira to see the Supreme Reality as present in every role within the act of giving, thereby making the practice purifying and aligned with highest wisdom.