Shloka 55
Āloka-dāna (Dīpa-dāna), Sumanas–Dhūpa–Dīpa Phala: Manu–Suvarṇa and Śukra–Bali Exempla
बलिकर्मसु वक्ष्यामि गुणान् कर्मफलोदयान् | देवयक्षोरगनृणां भूतानामथ रक्षसाम्
balikarmasu vakṣyāmi guṇān karmaphalodayān | devayakṣoraganṝṇāṃ bhūtānām atha rakṣasām ||
Śukra dit : «À présent, je décrirai les mérites et les fruits qui naissent des actes d’offrande (bali) — les bienfaits qui viennent de présenter de telles offrandes aux dieux, aux Yakṣa, aux Nāga, aux humains, aux Bhūta, et aussi aux Rākṣasa.»
शुक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Śukra introduces a dharmic principle: offerings (bali) made with proper intent and method generate specific merits and tangible results (karma-phala). The teaching frames ritual giving as ethically consequential—an ordered way of relating to diverse classes of beings and sustaining harmony.
Śukra begins a new explanatory section, announcing that he will enumerate the qualities and resulting benefits of bali-offerings directed to different recipients—divine beings, semi-divine spirits, serpents, humans, bhūtas, and rākṣasas—setting up a systematic discussion of ritual practice and its outcomes.