Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 173
Go-dāna-phala-nirdeśa
Merit and Destinations from the Gift of Cows
कामयाना महत्स्थानं तस्माद् दानात् परं दम: | दान करते समय यदि क्रोध आ जाय तो वह दानके फलको नष्ट कर देता है; इसलिये उस क्रोधको दबानेवाला जो दमनामक गुण है
kāmayānā mahatsvānaṁ tasmād dānāt paraṁ damaḥ |
Bhīṣma said: For one who longs for a great and exalted state, self-restraint (dama) is superior even to giving. If anger arises at the time of giving, it destroys the fruit of that gift; therefore the virtue called dama—by which anger is checked and the senses are governed—is regarded as higher than charity. O king, lord of men: in the heavenly realms of the seers there are countless subtle and unseen stations, and it is by the observance of dama that great ṛṣis and even gods, desiring the highest worlds, depart from this world and attain them. Hence, ‘dama’ is declared superior to dāna.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Self-restraint (dama)—especially the checking of anger and the governance of the senses—is superior to charity, because anger arising during an act of giving can nullify the merit of that gift.
Bhīṣma is instructing the king on dharma, ranking virtues: he explains why dama surpasses dāna and supports it by pointing to the attainment of higher, subtle heavenly stations by ṛṣis and devas through the practice of self-restraint.