Mahabharata 3.201.13 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 13
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
तस्मात् सर्वास्ववस्थासु सर्वदानानि पार्थिव | दातव्यानि द्विजातिभ्य: स्वर्गमार्गजिगीषया
tasmāt sarvāsv avasthāsu sarvadānāni pārthiva | dātavyāni dvijātibhyaḥ svargamārga-jigīṣayā || japair mantraiś ca homaiś ca svādhyāyādhyayanena ca | nāvaṁ vedamayīṁ kṛtvā tārayanti taranti ca ||
Mārkaṇḍeya dijo: «Por eso, oh rey, en toda condición de vida y en todo tiempo, quien anhela conquistar el sendero del cielo debe dar siempre dones a los nacidos dos veces (dvija). Pues mediante el japa, la recitación de mantras, las ofrendas sacrificiales al fuego (homa), el autoestudio (svādhyāya) y el estudio del Veda, los brāhmaṇas forjan una “barca hecha de Veda”; con ella hacen pasar a otros, y ellos mismos también cruzan».
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should practice continual charity—especially toward the twice-born—as a dharmic means of attaining the heavenly path; and one should honor the Brāhmaṇas’ role as preservers of Vedic discipline, who through japa, mantra, homa, and study become a ‘Vedic boat’ that benefits both society and themselves.
Mārkaṇḍeya addresses a king and gives ethical instruction: he urges steady giving and highlights how Brāhmaṇas, by maintaining Vedic rites and learning, provide a salvific support to others while also securing their own spiritual passage.
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