Shloka 30
Phala of Vrata, Niyama, Svādhyāya, Dama, Satya, Brahmacarya, and Service (व्रत-नियम-स्वाध्याय-दम-सत्य-ब्रह्मचर्य-शुश्रूषा-फलप्रश्नः)
न त्वेतासां दानमात्र प्रशस्तं पात्र कालो गोविशेषो विधिक्ष । ज्ञात्वा देयं विप्र गवान्तरं हि दुःखं ज्ञातुं पावकादित्यभूतम्
na tv etāsāṁ dānamātraṁ praśastaṁ pātraḥ kālo goviśeṣo vidhikṣaḥ | jñātvā deyaṁ vipra gavāntaraṁ hi duḥkhaṁ jñātuṁ pāvakādityabhūtam ||
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai Brahmana terbaik, bukan semata-mata tindakan memberi sapi-sapi ini yang dipuji. Gōdāna hendaknya dilakukan setelah memahami kelayakan penerima, waktu yang tepat, keunggulan khas sapi, serta tata cara pemberian yang terbaik. Sebab perbedaan tingkat di antara sapi-sapi itu sukar dikenali, dan tidak mudah pula mengenali penerima yang bercahaya laksana Api dan Surya.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity is ethically complete only when guided by discernment: the giver must consider the worthiness of the recipient (pātra), the proper time (kāla), the quality of the gift (goviśeṣa), and the correct procedure (vidhi). Mere giving without these factors is not fully praiseworthy.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs on dharma related to gifts. Here he advises a Brahmin listener that go-dāna requires careful evaluation—both of the cows’ relative qualities and of a truly radiant, deserving recipient—since such discernment is difficult.