Shloka 36
Prāyaścitta-vidhāna: Tapas, Dāna, Vrata, and Proportional Expiation (प्रायश्चित्तविधानम्)
न दद्याद् यशसे दानं न भयान्नोपकारिणे,इति श्रीमहा भारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि व्यासवाक्ये षट्त्रिंशो5ध्याय:
na dadyād yaśase dānaṃ na bhayān nopakāriṇe | iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi vyāsavākye ṣaṭtriṃśo 'dhyāyaḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “One should not give charity for the sake of fame, nor out of fear, nor to someone who gives only with an eye to personal advantage. In the teaching on royal duty within the Śānti Parva, this is stated as Vyāsa’s counsel.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity should be guided by dharma and compassion, not by ego (desire for fame), coercion (fear), or transactional self-interest. The verse stresses purity of intention as essential to righteous giving.
Within the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Vyāsa delivers a concise ethical rule about dāna, warning against improper motives and reinforcing the standards expected of rulers and householders alike.