Shloka 18
Āloka-dāna (Dīpa-dāna), Sumanas–Dhūpa–Dīpa Phala: Manu–Suvarṇa and Śukra–Bali Exempla
अमृतं मनसः प्रीतिं सद्यस्तृप्तिं ददाति च । मनो ग्लपयते तीव्र विष॑ गन्धेन सर्वश:
amṛtaṃ manasaḥ prītiṃ sadyas tṛptiṃ dadāti ca | mano glāpayate tīvraṃ viṣa-gandhena sarvaśaḥ ||
Dijo Śukra: «El néctar trae alegría a la mente y concede satisfacción inmediata. El veneno, en cambio, por su solo olor, hace que la mente se hunda en una aflicción aguda y total».
शुक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should cultivate what is ‘amṛta-like’—that which naturally brings clarity, joy, and wholesome satisfaction to the mind—and avoid what is ‘viṣa-like,’ which even by proximity (symbolized by smell) produces inner agitation and dejection. The verse frames ethical discernment through the mind’s immediate moral-psychological response.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic setting, Śukra speaks in an instructive tone, using a vivid contrast—nectar versus poison—to teach how to recognize beneficial versus harmful influences and choices by their effects on the mind.