Shloka 9
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
परिचारकेषु यद् दत्तं वृथा दानानि षोडश । पिता आदि गुरुजन, मिथ्यावादी, पापी, कृतध्न, ग्रामपुरोहित, वेदविक्रय करनेवाले, शूद्रसे यज्ञ करानेवाले, नीच ब्राह्मण, शूद्राके पति ब्राह्मण, साँपको पकड़कर व्यवसाय करनेवाले तथा सेवकों और स्त्री-समूहको दिया हुआ दान व्यर्थ है-। इस प्रकार ये सोलह दान निष्फल बताये गये हैं || ७-८ ई || तमोवृतस्तु यो दद्याद् भयात् क्रोधात् तथैव च,जो तमोगुणसे आवृत हो भय और क्रोधपूर्वक दान देता है, वह मनुष्य वैसे सब प्रकारके दानोंका फल भावी जन्ममें गर्भावस्थामें भोगता है, अर्थात् तामसी दान करनेके कारण वह उसका फल दु:खके रूपमें भोगता है तथा (श्रेष्ठ) ब्राह्मणोंको दान देनेवाला मानव उस दानका फल बड़ा होनेपर (कामनाके अनुसार) भोगता है
paricārakeṣu yad dattaṃ vṛthā dānāni ṣoḍaśa | tamovṛtas tu yo dadyād bhayāt krodhāt tathaiva ca ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Gifts given to certain unworthy recipients become futile; such ‘fruitless gifts’ are said to be sixteen in number. And the person who, veiled by tamas, gives out of fear or anger—such a donor experiences the consequence of those gifts in a painful way in a future birth (even from the womb). By contrast, one who gives to truly worthy brāhmaṇas enjoys the result of that gift in due measure, according to the magnitude of the merit.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity is ethically evaluated not only by the act of giving but also by the recipient’s worthiness and the donor’s inner motive. Gifts made under tamas—especially from fear or anger—lead to painful karmic results, whereas gifts to worthy brāhmaṇas yield proportionate beneficial results.
In Mārkaṇḍeya’s discourse, he classifies certain donations as ‘vṛthā’ (fruitless), traditionally counted as sixteen types, and then contrasts tamasic giving (fear/anger-driven) with meritorious giving to worthy recipients, explaining their differing karmic outcomes.