Shloka 13
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
तस्मात् सर्वास्ववस्थासु सर्वदानानि पार्थिव | दातव्यानि द्विजातिभ्य: स्वर्गमार्गजिगीषया,मार्कण्डेय उवाच जपैम॑न्त्रैश्न होमैश्व स्वाध्यायाध्ययनेन च । नावं वेदमयीं कृत्वा तारयन्ति तरन्ति च मार्कण्डेयजीने कहा--राजन! ब्राह्मण जप, मन्त्र (पाठ), होम, स्वाध्याय और वेदाध्ययनके द्वारा वेदमयी नौकाका निर्माण करके दूसरोंको भी तारते हैं और स्वयं भी तर जाते हैं
tasmāt sarvāsv avasthāsu sarvadānāni pārthiva | dātavyāni dvijātibhyaḥ svargamārga-jigīṣayā || japair mantraiś ca homaiś ca svādhyāyādhyayanena ca | nāvaṁ vedamayīṁ kṛtvā tārayanti taranti ca ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Therefore, O king, in every condition of life and at all times, gifts should be given to the twice-born, for one who seeks to win the path to heaven. For by japa, by the recitation of mantras, by sacrificial offerings, by self-study and the study of the Veda, the Brāhmaṇas fashion a ‘boat made of the Veda’; with it they ferry others across, and they themselves cross over as well.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच