Shloka 48
Prāyaścitta-vidhāna: Tapas, Dāna, Vrata, and Proportional Expiation (प्रायश्चित्तविधानम्)
ग्रामो धान्यैर्यथा शून्यो यथा कूपश्च निर्जल:ः । यथा हुतमनग्नौ च तथैव स्यान्निराकृती
grāmo dhānyair yathā śūnyo yathā kūpaś ca nirjalaḥ | yathā hutam anagnau ca tathaiva syān nirākṛtiḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “Just as a village devoid of grain, a well without water, and an offering poured into a fireless place are all fruitless, so too a gift given to a foolish brāhmaṇa becomes fruitless.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dāna yields spiritual fruit only when given with discernment to a worthy recipient; giving to an unfit or foolish person is compared to resources that cannot serve their purpose—grainless village, waterless well, and an oblation where there is no fire.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Vyāsa uses a chain of vivid analogies to teach that charity must be guided by pātratā (worthiness), otherwise it becomes ineffective despite the act of giving.