Shloka 80
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
वर्षासु दीपदानेन शशिवच्छो भते नर:
varṣāsu dīpadānena śaśivac chobhate naraḥ
Śakra dit : « Celui qui offre des lampes durant la saison des pluies resplendit comme la lune — devenant une source visible de lumière et de guidance au cœur des ténèbres et de l’épreuve. Cet enseignement loue l’aumône donnée au moment juste, celle qui secourt autrui quand les temps sont durs. »
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Timely charity is especially meritorious: giving light (lamps) in the rainy season symbolizes relieving others’ difficulty and making oneself radiant in virtue, like the moon that brightens darkness.
Indra (Śakra) is describing the फल (result) of a specific act of dāna: donating lamps during the rains. He frames it as a dharmic practice whose visible metaphor is lunar radiance.