Shloka 5
Vipulopākhyāna—Ruci-rakṣā and Śakra’s Māyā (विपुलोपाख्यानम्—रुचिरक्षणं शक्रमाया च)
युधिछिर उवाच अपीडया च भूतानां धर्मस्याहिंसया तथा । पात्र विद्यात् तु तत्त्वेन यस्मै दत्त न संतपेत्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: apīḍayā ca bhūtānāṃ dharmasyāhiṃsayā tathā | pātraṃ vidyāt tu tattvena yasmai dattaṃ na saṃtapet ||
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «¡Oh, Abuelo venerable! La caridad debe darse de modo que ningún ser vivo sea afligido y que el dharma no sea estorbado—esto es, conforme a la no violencia. Pero ¿cómo conocer en verdad quién es un receptor digno, para que el don, una vez entregado, no se convierta después en causa de remordimiento?»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity must be guided by ahimsa and dharma: giving should not harm beings nor violate righteousness. Therefore, ethical giving requires discernment of the recipient’s worthiness (pātratva) so that the act of giving does not later lead to moral regret.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira asks the elder authority (implicitly Bhīṣma) how to identify a truly worthy recipient for gifts, emphasizing that donations should be non-injurious and aligned with dharma, and should not become a cause of later remorse.