Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 75
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
अस्माकं परितोषश्न अक्षय: परिकीरत्त्यते | इस तरह निष्कपट भावसे किया हुआ दान अक्षय एवं महान् फलदायक होता है और उससे हमें भी अक्षय संतोष प्राप्त होता है--ऐसा शास्त्रका कथन है ।।
śakra uvāca | asmākaṃ paritoṣaś ca akṣayaḥ parikīrtyate | śraddadhānāś ca ye martyā āhariṣyanti santatim ||
Śakra said: “It is declared that our satisfaction too is inexhaustible. Therefore, a gift made with an open and guileless heart becomes imperishable and yields great fruit; by it we also attain unending contentment—such is the teaching of the śāstra. And those mortal people who give with faith will secure an enduring line of descendants.”
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Gifts offered with sincere faith and without deceit yield imperishable merit; such giving brings lasting satisfaction to the divine order as well, and it supports the giver’s enduring welfare, including continuity of lineage.
Indra (Śakra) speaks as an authority figure, affirming a śāstric principle: pure-hearted charity produces inexhaustible results and divine contentment, and he adds that faithful mortals who give will obtain lasting progeny.