Shloka 50
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
हयादीनां प्रकृष्टानि ते5ध्वानं यान्ति वै नरा: । संनिवार्यातपं यान्ति छत्रेणैव हि छत्रदा:,राजन! जिनके द्वारा यहाँ ब्राह्मणोंको नाना प्रकारके अश्व आदि वाहनोंका उत्कृष्ट दान किया गया है, वे उस मार्गपर (उन्हीं वाहनोंद्वारा सुखसे) यात्रा करते हैं। छत्र-दान करनेवाले मनुष्य वहाँ प्राप्त हुए छत्रके द्वारा ही धूपका निवारण करते हुए चलते हैं
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
hayādīnāṃ prakṛṣṭāni te 'dhvānaṃ yānti vai narāḥ |
saṃnivāryātapaṃ yānti chatreṇaiva hi chatradāḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: Those men who, in this world, have made excellent gifts of horses and other conveyances to brāhmaṇas travel onward on that very path with ease, as if borne by those same vehicles. Likewise, the givers of umbrellas proceed while warding off the sun by means of the umbrella they have obtained there. The passage underscores the moral logic of dāna: what one gives in righteousness becomes one’s own support and protection in the journey beyond.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous giving (dāna), especially of practical supports like transport and shelter, returns as corresponding aid and protection in the next journey; the fruit of charity mirrors the nature of the gift.
Vaiśampāyana describes the post-mortem results of specific gifts: donors of excellent horses/vehicles travel comfortably, and donors of umbrellas walk protected from the sun by the very umbrellas gained there.