Shloka 20
Āśrama-dharma and Brahmacarya: Śuka’s Inquiry on Karma and Tyāga (शुक-प्रश्नः कर्मत्यागविवेकश्च)
प्रतर्दन: काशिपति: प्रदाय नयने स्वके । ब्राह्मणायातुलां कीर्तिमिह चामुत्र चाश्लुते,काशिराज प्रतर्दनने किसी ब्राह्मणको अपने दोनों नेत्र प्रदान करके इस लोकमें अनुपम कीर्ति प्राप्त की और परलोकमें वे उत्तम सुख भोगते हैं
pratardanaḥ kāśipatiḥ pradāya nayane svake | brāhmaṇāyātulāṃ kīrtim iha cāmutra cāśnute ||
Vyāsa said: Pratardana, the king of Kāśī, having given away his own two eyes to a brāhmaṇa, attained incomparable fame in this world; and in the world beyond as well he enjoys excellent happiness. The verse upholds the ethic of self-sacrificial generosity, presenting bodily giving as a supreme form of dāna that yields both social honor and spiritual reward.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Supreme generosity (dāna) and self-sacrifice (tyāga) performed for a worthy recipient is portrayed as dharmic conduct that yields a double fruit: worldly honor (kīrti) and otherworldly well-being (sukha).
Vyāsa cites an exemplum: Pratardana, the king of Kāśī, gives his own two eyes to a brāhmaṇa. This extreme gift becomes the reason he is celebrated on earth and is said to enjoy happiness after death.