Shloka 18
Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda: Aśuddha-Sevana, Guṇa-Dr̥ṣṭi, and Sāṃkhya–Yoga Ekārthatā
Mahābhārata 12.293
अभिगम्य च तत् तुष्ट्या दत्तमाहुरभिष्ठतम् । याचितेन तु यद् दत्तं तदाहुर्मध्यमं बुधा:
abhigamya ca tat tuṣṭyā dattam āhur abhiṣṭatam | yācitena tu yad dattaṃ tad āhur madhyamaṃ budhāḥ ||
Dijo Parāśara: «Se declara como el don más deseable aquel que se ofrece de buen grado: cuando uno mismo se acerca al destinatario y da con íntima satisfacción. Pero lo que se da sólo después de ser pedido, los sabios lo consideran un don de categoría media».
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The moral value of charity depends greatly on intention and initiative: giving proactively and joyfully is praised as the highest, while giving only after solicitation is considered merely average.
In a didactic passage of the Śānti Parva, the sage Parāśara instructs on standards of dāna (gift-giving), ranking gifts by the giver’s attitude and whether the giver takes initiative or waits to be asked.