Shloka 41
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
तेभ्य: प्रयच्छ दानानि ये प्रवृत्ता नराधिप । अहं न प्रतिगृह्नामि किमिष्टं कि ददामि ते | ब्रृहि त्वं नृपतिश्रेष्ठ तपसा साधयामि किम्
tebhyaḥ prayaccha dānāni ye pravṛttā narādhipa | ahaṃ na pratigṛhṇāmi kim iṣṭaṃ kiṃ dadāmi te | brūhi tvaṃ nṛpatiśreṣṭha tapasā sādhayāmi kim, nareśvara ||
The Brahmin said: “Give your gifts to those who are engaged in the path of worldly life, O lord of men. I will not accept a donation from you. O best of kings, what do you desire at this moment? What shall I grant you? Tell me, O ruler—what task of yours shall I accomplish through my austerity?”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity should be directed appropriately: the Brahmin, aligned with renunciation, declines material gifts and instead offers the fruit of austerity. The verse contrasts pravṛtti (worldly engagement) with a renunciant ethic, suggesting that spiritual power and self-restraint can serve others without attachment to possessions.
A Brahmin addresses a king and instructs him to give donations to those living the active, worldly life. He refuses to accept the king’s gift himself and asks what the king truly seeks, offering to fulfill the king’s purpose through his tapas (ascetic merit) rather than through material exchange.