Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 5
Nārada’s Instructions: Śrāddha, True Dharma, Contentment, Yoga, and Devotion-Centered Renunciation
देशे काले च सम्प्राप्ते मुन्यन्नं हरिदैवतम् । श्रद्धया विधिवत्पात्रे न्यस्तं कामधुगक्षयम् ॥ ५ ॥
deśe kāle ca samprāpte muny-annaṁ hari-daivatam śraddhayā vidhivat pātre nyastaṁ kāmadhug akṣayam
When a suitable place and auspicious time are obtained, one should, with śraddhā and according to proper rite, offer pure food prepared with ghee to the Deity of Śrī Hari, and then give that prasāda to a worthy recipient—a Vaiṣṇava or a brāhmaṇa. This becomes the cause of unfailing prosperity.
FAQs
This verse teaches that charity should be offered only when proper time and place are present, and it should be done with faith and according to scriptural method to a worthy recipient.
Because the Lord is pleased when His devotees and saintly persons are honored; offering food to them in a regulated, faithful way is treated as service to Hari Himself.
Give thoughtfully: choose a genuine, deserving person or spiritual cause, offer with sincerity (not for show), and follow a disciplined habit of charity—then it becomes spiritually enduring (akṣaya).