Shloka 12
Determination of the Householder’s Dharma
Dāna: Types, Recipients, Timing, and Fruits
यस्तु दद्यान्महीं भक्त्या ब्राह्मणायाहिताग्नये । स याति परमं स्थानं यत्र गत्वा न शोचति
yastu dadyānmahīṃ bhaktyā brāhmaṇāyāhitāgnaye | sa yāti paramaṃ sthānaṃ yatra gatvā na śocati
Mas quien, con devoción, entrega tierra a un brāhmaṇa que mantiene los fuegos sagrados, alcanza la morada suprema; llegado allí, ya no se aflige.
Unspecified (narratorial/teaching voice within the Svarga-khaṇḍa context)
Concept: Devotional gifting of land to a qualified fire-maintaining brāhmaṇa leads to the sorrowless supreme state.
Application: Support genuine custodians of sacred learning/ritual (today: ethical patronage of Vedic study, temples, and dharmic institutions) with humility and devotion rather than display; prioritize long-term sustenance (land/resources) over one-time charity.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A serene donor offers a deed of fertile land at a yajña-śālā where an āhitāgni brāhmaṇa tends three sacred fires. Above them, a luminous pathway opens into a sorrowless celestial realm, suggesting the 'parama-sthāna' promised by the verse.","primary_figures":["āhitāgni brāhmaṇa with sacred fires","devotee-donor","Agni as subtle presence","Vishnu as distant, blessing radiance (implied)"],"setting":"Rural hermitage with yajña-vedi, kusa grass, ladles, and a boundary of newly gifted fields; distant horizon hinting at a celestial gate.","lighting_mood":"temple lamp-lit","color_palette":["saffron flame-orange","ash white","emerald green","warm gold","deep indigo"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a dignified āhitāgni brāhmaṇa seated beside three blazing sacred fires on a jeweled yajña-vedi, receiving a land-gift from a kneeling devotee; Vishnu’s blessing aura in the upper register as a gold-leaf haloed presence; heavy gold leaf embellishment on flames, ornaments, and borders; rich reds and greens, gem-studded details, traditional South Indian iconography, ornate arch frame.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: a quiet hermitage scene with delicate brushwork—an āhitāgni brāhmaṇa near a small fire-altar, a devotee offering a land deed and handful of soil; lyrical naturalism with soft hills and fields, refined faces, cool mountain palette, thin ink outlines, a faint celestial opening in the sky.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines and natural pigments—central brāhmaṇa with sacred thread and calm eyes, stylized triple fires, donor in añjali; a symbolic golden gateway above indicating the sorrowless abode; temple-wall aesthetic with red/yellow/green dominance and rhythmic floral borders.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: devotional charity scene framed by lotus and creeper motifs; a serene Vishnu aura above, below a brāhmaṇa with sacred fires and a devotee offering land; intricate floral borders, deep blues and gold, peacocks at the margins, Nathdwara-inspired ornamentation adapted to a dāna-mahātmyā theme."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"devotional","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["soft temple bells","crackling sacred fire","conch shell (distant)","evening silence"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: yastu = yaḥ + tu; dadyānmahīm = dadyāt + mahīm; brāhmaṇāyāhitāgnaye = brāhmaṇāya + āhitāgnaye.
FAQs
The verse praises mahī-dāna (donation of land), specifically when offered with devotion to a Brāhmaṇa who is an āhitāgni (a Vedic householder maintaining the sacred fires).
It explicitly states bhaktyā—devotion is the qualifying inner attitude that elevates the act of giving into a spiritually transformative deed leading to the “supreme abode.”
Support of disciplined spiritual practice (symbolized by the āhitāgni) through sincere generosity is presented as meritorious and uplifting, culminating in a state beyond sorrow.