Shloka 24
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving
Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum
धनं धान्यं प्रियान् दारान् यानं वासस्तथादभुतम् । श्रियं दृष्टवा मनुष्याणामसूयामि निरर्थकम्
dhanaṁ dhānyaṁ priyān dārān yānaṁ vāsas tathādbhūtam | śriyaṁ dṛṣṭvā manuṣyāṇām asūyāmi nirarthakam ||
Voyant la richesse et les grains, les épouses chéries, les beaux attelages, les vêtements merveilleux et la prospérité dont jouissent les hommes, moi, sans cause véritable, je brûlais d’envie contre eux.
कीट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Causeless envy (asūyā) is futile and self-corroding: merely seeing others’ prosperity can trigger resentment, but such jealousy has no righteous basis and undermines one’s own ethical and mental well-being.
The speaker, identified as a kīṭa (insect), confesses a prior habit of resenting humans upon seeing their comforts—wealth, food, spouses, vehicles, and fine clothing—thereby illustrating how envy can arise from comparison rather than from any actual harm.