Shloka 45
Prāyaścitta-vidhāna: Tapas, Dāna, Vrata, and Proportional Expiation (प्रायश्चित्तविधानम्)
निष्कारणं स्मृतं दत्तं ब्राह्मणे ब्रह्म॒वर्जिते । भवेदपात्रदोषेण न चात्रास्ति विचारणा,“वेदविहीन ब्राह्मणोंको दिया हुआ दान अपात्रदोषसे निरर्थक हो जाता है, इसमें कोई विचार करनेकी बात नहीं है
niṣkāraṇaṃ smṛtaṃ dattaṃ brāhmaṇe brahma-varjite | bhaved apātra-doṣeṇa na cātrāsti vicāraṇā ||
A gift given without due cause to a brāhmaṇa devoid of sacred learning is remembered as futile; through the fault of giving to an unworthy recipient it becomes fruitless—on this point there is no room for deliberation.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity must be guided by discernment about the recipient’s worthiness (pātratā). A gift given indiscriminately to one lacking sacred learning is said to lose its spiritual efficacy due to the fault of giving to an unworthy recipient (apātra-doṣa).
In the Śānti Parva’s dharma-instructional discourse, Vyāsa states a rule about dāna: offerings made to a brāhmaṇa who is ‘brahma-varjita’ (without Vedic/sacred qualification) are considered fruitless, and he presents this as a settled principle not requiring further debate.