Shloka 46
दैव–पुरुषकार-प्रश्नः
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Inquiry: Fate and Human Effort
व्ययगुणमपि साधु कर्मणा संश्रयन्ते भवति मनुजलोकाद् देवलोको विशिष्ट: । बहुतरसुसमृद्ध्या मानुषाणां गृहाणि पितृवनभवनाभं दृश्यते चामराणाम्
vyayaguṇam api sādhu karmaṇā saṃśrayante bhavati manujalokād devaloko viśiṣṭaḥ | bahutarasusamṛddhyā mānuṣāṇāṃ gṛhāṇi pitṛvanabhavanābhaṃ dṛśyate cāmarāṇām ||
Bhishma dit : «Quand bien même un homme de bien se serait appauvri par le don, les dieux se tournent encore vers lui à cause de ses actes justes. Ainsi sa demeure, comparée au monde des hommes, devient comme un ciel plus élevé. Mais là où il n’y a point de don, une maison fût-elle comble de richesses apparaît aux dieux comme un simple lieu de crémation».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Giving (dāna) sanctifies a person and a household: even if charity leads to material loss, the merit of righteous action draws divine regard, making the home 'heaven-like'; wealth without generosity is spiritually barren, likened to a cremation-ground.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anushasana Parva), he contrasts two households: one of a virtuous giver who may have become poor yet is honored by the gods, and another rich household lacking charity that appears inauspicious and empty of merit.