Shloka 93
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
द्रव्यागमो नृणां सूक्ष्म: पात्रे दानं ततः परम्
dravyāgamo nṛṇāṃ sūkṣmaḥ; pātre dānaṃ tataḥ param | kālād api śraddhā śreṣṭhā; svargadvāraṃ tu sūkṣmam ||
Le beau-père dit : «Pour les hommes, discerner le moyen d’acquérir des richesses avec justice est chose subtile. Mais plus élevé encore est de mettre ces richesses au service d’un récipiendaire digne. Mieux que donner en un temps ordinaire est de donner en un temps excellent ; mais plus grand que le temps est la foi (śraddhā). La porte du ciel est d’une extrême subtilité : les hommes, abusés par l’attachement, ne parviennent pas à la percevoir».
श्षशुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Acquire wealth by just means, then dedicate it to worthy recipients; while timing matters in giving, the giver’s śraddhā (faithful, reverent intention) is even more decisive for spiritual fruit, because the path to heaven is subtle and easily missed through delusion.
A father-in-law figure delivers a didactic instruction on dharma: he ranks ethical livelihood, proper charity to a fit recipient, auspicious timing, and finally inner faith as the highest factor, warning that attachment and delusion prevent people from recognizing the subtle ‘gate of heaven.’