Adhyaya 20

PP.7.20 proclaims dāna (charity) as the foremost dharma in Kali Yuga, even above tapas, noting that austerity can become a cause of sin, whereas giving is inherently non-injurious. It especially glorifies anna-dāna (the gift of food) and jala-dāna (the gift of water) as life-sustaining offerings. An exemplifying tale follows in Hastināpura: the courtesan Ratividagdhā, the brāhmaṇa widow Kṣemaṃkarī, and the wealthy brāhmaṇa Hariśarmā die and are taken by Yama’s messengers to Dharmapura. There Citragupta audits their deeds; despite grave sins, the courtesan’s food-gift and the widow’s water-gift erase vast karmic burdens, and Yama sends them onward to Viṣṇu’s abode. Hariśarmā receives divine honors yet is denied food because of miserliness, prompting Brahmā’s instruction that wealth is wasted when neither rightly enjoyed nor given in dāna. The chapter then lists major gifts—land, cows, gold, books, knowledge, and more—with their fruits, concluding with an exhortation to give so as to please Lakṣmīpati, the Lord of Lakṣmī (Viṣṇu).