Shloka 16
Go-dāna-phala-nirdeśa
Merit and Destinations from the Gift of Cows
क्रोधो हन्ति हि यद् दानं तस्माद् दानातू परं दम: । अदृश्यानि महाराज स्थानान्ययुतशो दिवि
bhīṣma uvāca | krodho hanti hi yad dānaṃ tasmād dānāt paraṃ damaḥ | adṛśyāni mahārāja sthānāny ayutaśo divi | kāmayānā mahats thānaṃ tasmād dānāt paraṃ damaḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: Amarah menghancurkan pahala apa pun dari sebuah pemberian; karena itu pengendalian diri lebih tinggi daripada memberi. Wahai raja agung, di surga ada tak terhitung kediaman yang tak kasatmata; para resi dan makhluk ilahi yang merindukan keadaan tertinggi berangkat dari dunia ini menuju alam-alam itu melalui laku pengendalian diri. Maka, pengendalian diri lebih utama daripada amal pemberian.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A gift loses its spiritual fruit if it is accompanied by anger; therefore the discipline that restrains anger and the senses (dama) is ethically and spiritually superior to charity.
In Bhishma’s instruction to the king in the Anushasana Parva, he ranks virtues and explains that self-restraint leads to higher, even heavenly, attainments, whereas anger can nullify the merit of otherwise good acts like giving.