Shloka 4
जापक–इक्ष्वाकु–सत्यविवादः
The Jāpaka, Ikṣvāku, and the Dispute on Truth and Merit
असद्धयो दीयते यत्तु तद् दानमिह भुज्यते । यादृशं दीयते दानं तादृश॑ फलमश्चुते
Bharadvāja uvāca: asaddhyo dīyate yat tu tad dānam iha bhujyate | yādṛśaṃ dīyate dānaṃ tādṛśaṃ phalam aśnute ||
परंतु जो दान असत्पात्रों को दिया जाता है, उसका फल इसी लोक में भोगा जाता है। जैसा दान दिया जाता है, वैसा ही फल मनुष्य प्राप्त करता है।
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The ethical value and the fruit of charity depend on the worthiness of the recipient and the quality of the gift: giving to the unworthy yields immediate, worldly return, while the intended higher, otherworldly merit is secured by giving rightly; in all cases, the result mirrors the nature of the donation.
In a didactic exchange within Śānti Parva, the sage Bharadvāja explains principles of dāna (charitable giving), distinguishing how the fruit of a gift is experienced depending on whether it is offered to worthy or unworthy persons.