Shloka 30
Tilā-Dāna, Dīpa-Dāna, and Nitya-Jalapradāna
Yama–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda) | तिलदान-दीपदान-नित्यजलप्रदान (यम-ब्राह्मण संवाद
गन्धान् शतभिषायोगे दत्त्वा सागुरुचन्दनान् । प्राप्रोत्यप्सरसां संघान् प्रेत्य गन्धांश्व शाश्वतान्,जो शतभिषा नक्षत्रके योगमें अगुरु और चन्दन-सहित सुगन्धित पदार्थोका दान करता है, वह परलोकमें अप्सराओंके समुदाय तथा अक्षय गन्धको पाता है
Nārada uvāca | gandhān śatabhiṣā-yoge dattvā sāguru-candanān | prāpnoty apsarasāṁ saṅghān pretya gandhāṁś ca śāśvatān ||
Nārada said: One who, at the auspicious conjunction of the Śatabhiṣā nakṣatra, gives fragrant substances—together with agaru and sandalwood—attains after death the company of hosts of apsarases and gains enduring, unfailing fragrance in the next world.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dāna (charitable giving), especially when done with mindful ritual timing (here, the Śatabhiṣā nakṣatra), generates refined and lasting merit. Offering pleasing, fragrant items symbolizes purity and generosity, and its fruit is described as elevated posthumous enjoyment and enduring auspiciousness.
Nārada is enumerating the fruits (phala) of specific acts of charity. In this verse he states that donating fragrant substances along with agaru and sandalwood during the Śatabhiṣā conjunction leads, after death, to association with apsarases and to obtaining imperishable fragrance in the next world.