Shloka 35
जनक–सुलभा संवादः
Janaka–Sulabhā Dialogue on Mokṣa and Non-attachment
विविक्तशीलाय विधिप्रियाय विवादहीनाय बहुश्रुताय । विजानते चैव न चाहिततक्षमे दमे च शक्ताय शमे च देयम्
viviktaśīlāya vidhipriyāya vivādahīnāya bahuśrutāya | vijānate caiva na cāhitakṣame dame ca śaktāya śame ca deyam ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “A gift should be given to one whose conduct is secluded and disciplined, who delights in right procedure, who is free from contentiousness, and who is deeply learned—one who truly understands, who does not tolerate what is improper, and who is capable both of self-restraint and inner tranquility.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity is ethically meaningful when directed to a worthy recipient—someone disciplined, non-contentious, learned, discerning, intolerant of wrongdoing, and established in self-control (dama) and mental tranquility (śama).
Vasiṣṭha is instructing on dharma in the Śānti Parva, specifying the qualities of a proper recipient of gifts, thereby guiding how dāna should be practiced with discernment rather than indiscriminately.