Shloka 176
Nakṣatra-yoga-anusāreṇa Dāna-vidhiḥ
Gifts prescribed according to lunar mansions and yogas
यद् देवेभ्य: पितृभ्यश्न विप्रेभ्यश्न प्रयच्छसि । युधिष्ठिर! तीसरे समयमें जो तुम देवताओं, पितरों और ब्राह्मणोंके उद्देश्यसे दान करते हो, वह विश्वेदेवोंको संतुष्ट करनेवाला होता है
yad devebhyaḥ pitṛbhyaś ca viprebhyaś ca prayacchasi | yudhiṣṭhira! tṛtīye samaye yat tvayā deve-pitṛ-brāhmaṇārthaṁ dīyate, tad viśvedevānāṁ toṣa-karaṁ bhavati ||
Bhishma said: “O Yudhishthira, whatever you give as a gift with the intention of honoring the gods, the ancestors, and the Brahmins—when offered at the third prescribed time—becomes an offering that brings satisfaction to the Viśvedevas. The teaching is that charity gains its full ethical and ritual potency when aligned with proper recipients, intention, and time.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity becomes especially meritorious when it is directed to worthy recipients (gods, ancestors, Brahmins), motivated by reverent intention, and performed at the proper prescribed time; such giving is said to please the Viśvedevas.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira on dharma, he explains the fruit of timely, properly directed gifts: offerings made for devas, pitrs, and Brahmins at the ‘third time’ are described as satisfying the collective deities called the Viśvedevas.