Shloka 3
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
मनुष्याणां तु मध्याल्ले प्रदद्यादुपपत्तिभि: । कालहीनं तु यद् दानं तं भागं रक्षसां विदु:
manuṣyāṇāṃ tu madhyālle pradadyādupapattibhiḥ | kālahīnaṃ tu yad dānaṃ taṃ bhāgaṃ rakṣasāṃ viduḥ ||
Bhishma dijo: «Oh rey, entre los hombres debe darse al mediodía, de manera adecuada y conforme al deber. Pero el don hecho a destiempo se considera la porción de los rākṣasas».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity should be performed at the proper time and in a fitting manner; giving that ignores appropriate timing is ethically devalued and is traditionally said to go to the ‘share of the rākṣasas’—i.e., it loses its auspicious, dharmic fruit.
Bhīṣma is instructing the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) on norms of dāna within dharmaśāstric ethics, emphasizing that not only the act of giving but also its timing and propriety determine its spiritual and moral efficacy.