Shloka 82
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
द्विजाः प्रतिग्रहे युक्ता दातारो राजवंशजा: । यदि धर्म: श्रुतो विप्र सहैव फलमस्तु नौ
dvijāḥ pratigrahe yuktā dātāro rājavaṁśajāḥ | yadi dharmaḥ śruto vipra sahaiva phalam astu nau ||
The Brahmin said: “Brahmins are entitled to accept gifts, while those born in the royal line are givers and do not take. If you too have heard this rule of dharma, O Brahmin, then let the fruit of our respective actions belong to us both together.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse appeals to varṇa-based dharma: Brahmins are traditionally permitted to accept gifts (pratigraha), while royal-born Kṣatriyas are expected to give (dāna) rather than receive. On that basis, the speaker proposes that the merit or result (phala) of their actions be shared jointly, emphasizing cooperative ethical outcome within prescribed social duties.
A Brahmin speaker invokes a commonly heard rule of conduct regarding who should receive and who should give. He addresses another Brahmin (vipra) and suggests that, since this dharma is acknowledged, the resulting benefit of what they are doing should accrue to both of them together—framing their interaction in terms of rightful roles and shared karmic fruit.