Shloka 113
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
ब्रह्म! यह मेरा हाथ जो आजसे पहले किसीके सामने नहीं फैलाया गया था, आज आपसे धरोहर लेनेके लिये आपके सामने फैला है। आप मेरा जो कुछ भी धरोहर धारण करते हैं, उसे इस समय मुझे दे दीजिये ।।
brāhmaṇa uvāca | saṃhitāṃ japata yāvān guṇaḥ kaścit kṛto mayā | tat sarvaṃ pratigṛhṇīṣva yadi kiñcid ihāsti me ||
“O Brahmin, this hand of mine—never before stretched out before anyone—has today been extended before you to receive what is held in deposit. Whatever you have been keeping as a trust for me, give it to me now.” The Brahmin said: “O King, whatever merit or virtue I have gained by reciting the Saṃhitā—whatever good has been accumulated by me—take all of it as a deposit. And if there is anything else of merit that belongs to me here, accept that too.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Merit gained through sacred recitation and disciplined practice is treated as a real moral-spiritual asset, and the verse explores the ethics of offering and accepting such ‘wealth’—highlighting generosity, detachment from one’s own merit, and the responsibility of the recipient.
A Brahmin addresses a king and offers him all the virtue he has accumulated through reciting the Saṃhitā, asking the king to accept it fully—framing the exchange as a kind of deposit or entrusted holding of spiritual merit.