Shloka 49
Āloka-dāna (Dīpa-dāna), Sumanas–Dhūpa–Dīpa Phala: Manu–Suvarṇa and Śukra–Bali Exempla
देवास्तेजस्विनो हास्मात् प्रभावन्त: प्रकाशका: । तामसा राक्षसाश्रैव तस्माद् दीप: प्रदीयते
devās tejasvino hāsmāt prabhāvantaḥ prakāśakāḥ | tāmasā rākṣasāś caiva tasmād dīpaḥ pradīyate ||
Śukra said: “The gods are radiant—powerful and illuminating by their very nature. The Rākṣasas, on the other hand, are of darkness. Therefore a lamp is given (to dispel that darkness and bring light).”
शुक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Radiance and clarity are associated with the divine (tejas), while darkness and obscuration are linked with tamas; ethical instruction is framed as moving from ignorance to illumination—symbolized by the giving of a lamp.
Śukra contrasts the nature of the Devas and the Rākṣasas and uses that contrast to justify a practical-symbolic act: providing a lamp, i.e., supplying light where darkness predominates.