Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 15
Sāma (Sāntva) and Dāna: The Brāhmaṇa’s Conciliatory Release from a Rākṣasa
“दान देनेवालेको जो पुण्य होता है, वही दान लेनेवालेको भी (यदि वह योग्य अधिकारी है तो) होता है। (क्योंकि दोनों एक दूसरेके उपकारक होते हैं) एक पहियेसे गाड़ी नहीं चलती--प्रतिग्रहीताके बिना दाताका दान सफल नहीं हो सकता।' ऐसी ऋषियोंकी मान्यता है ।।
maitreya uvāca | dāna-dene-vāle ko yo puṇya hotā hai, vahī dāna-lene-vāle ko bhī (yadi vaha yogya adhikārī hai to) hotā hai | (kyoṅki donoṅ eka dūsare ke upakāraka hote haiṅ) eka pahiyā se gāṛī nahīṅ calatī—pratigrahītā ke binā dātā kā dāna saphal nahīṅ ho sakatā | iti ṛṣīṇāṃ mānyatā | yatra vai brāhmaṇāḥ santi śrutavṛttopasaṃhitāḥ | tatra dānaphala-puṇyam iha cāmutra ca āśnute |
Maitreya said: The merit that accrues to the giver of a gift accrues also to the receiver—provided the recipient is worthy and duly qualified. For each becomes a benefactor to the other. A cart does not move upon a single wheel: without a recipient, the giver’s gift cannot reach fulfillment. Such is the judgment of the seers. Where learned and well-conducted Brāhmaṇas dwell—endowed with sacred learning and righteous conduct—there the merit born of giving is enjoyed by a person both in this world and in the next.
मैत्रेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity becomes fully fruitful only when there is a worthy recipient; merit belongs not only to the giver but also to the qualified receiver, because both cooperate in completing the act of dharma.
Maitreya articulates a dharma-teaching on dāna: the sages’ doctrine that giving requires proper acceptance, and that gifts offered where learned, well-conducted Brāhmaṇas reside yield merit enjoyed in both this life and the next.