Mahabharata 3.201.28 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 28
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
एवंविधेषु दातव्या न समृद्धेषु भारत । को गुणो भरतश्रेष्ठ समृद्धेष्वभिवर्जितम्,भारत! ऐसे ही लोगोंको गोदान करना चाहिये, धनवानोंको नहीं। भरतश्रेष्ठ! धनवानोंको देनेसे क्या लाभ है?
evaṁvidheṣu dātavyā na samṛddheṣu bhārata | ko guṇo bharataśreṣṭha samṛddheṣv abhivarjitam ||
Mārkaṇḍeya sprach: „Gaben sollen Menschen von solcher Art gegeben werden, o Bhārata — nicht denen, die bereits im Wohlstand leben. O Bester der Bharatas, welches wahre Verdienst gewinnt man, wenn man den Reichen gibt, denen es an nichts fehlt?“
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity gains ethical and spiritual value when directed toward those in genuine need; giving to the already wealthy yields little meaningful merit because it does not relieve suffering or deficiency.
Mārkaṇḍeya addresses a Bharata prince (in this section, commonly Yudhiṣṭhira) and instructs him on the proper recipients of gifts, emphasizing discernment in dāna as part of righteous conduct.
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