Shloka 4
दानशील-समाचारः, सत्कारः, अहिंसा च
Umā–Maheśvara Saṃvāda
भोजनं च यथाशतत्या ब्राह्मणे वेदपारगे । पशुबन्धशतस्येह फल प्राप्रोति पुष्कलम्
Dhaumya uvāca— bhojanaṁ ca yathāśaktyā brāhmaṇe vedapārage | paśubandhaśatasyeha phalaṁ prāpnoti puṣkalam ||
Dhaumya dit : Si un homme, selon ses moyens, offre un repas à un brāhmane parfaitement versé dans les Veda, il obtient ici-bas une récompense abondante — le fruit entier, équivalent à celui de cent sacrifices d’animaux. Ce vers souligne qu’une hospitalité sincère, proportionnée à ses capacités, envers les savants est tenue pour un acte de dharma d’une grande puissance, capable de conférer le mérite attaché aux grands rites.
धौग्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
That feeding a truly Veda-learned Brāhmaṇa, even modestly and strictly according to one’s means, is a highly meritorious dharmic act—so potent that it is said to equal the fruit of a hundred animal-sacrifices.
Dhaumya is instructing on dharma by praising a concrete practice of giving—providing food to a Veda-versed Brāhmaṇa—and stating its spiritual reward in the traditional idiom of sacrificial merit.