Shloka 163
Viśokā Dvādaśī Vow, Guḍa-Dhenū (Jaggery-Cow) Gift, and Śaila-Dāna (Mountain-Charity) Rites
दशभिर्मध्यमः प्रोक्तः पंचभिस्त्वधमः स्मृतः । अल्पवित्तोपि कुर्वीत द्वाभ्यामिह विधानतः
daśabhirmadhyamaḥ proktaḥ paṃcabhistvadhamaḥ smṛtaḥ | alpavittopi kurvīta dvābhyāmiha vidhānataḥ
ಹತ್ತು (ಪರಿಮಾಣ)ದಿಂದ ಮಾಡುವವನು ಮಧ್ಯಮನೆಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ; ಐದುದಿಂದ ಮಾಡುವವನು ಅಧಮನೆಂದು ಸ್ಮರಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಅಲ್ಪಧನವಿದ್ದವನೂ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಧಿಯಂತೆ ಎರಡು (ಪರಿಮಾಣ)ದಿಂದ ಇದನ್ನು ಮಾಡಬೇಕು.
Unspecified (contextual narrator/instructor voice within Adhyaya 21)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Sandhi Resolution Notes: दशभिर्मध्यमः = दशभिः मध्यमः; पंचभिस्त्वधमः = पञ्चभिः तु अधमः; अल्पवित्तोपि = अल्पवित्तः अपि; द्वाभ्यामिह = द्वाभ्याम् इह.
FAQs
It grades a prescribed religious act by capacity (ten = middling, five = lower) and emphasizes inclusivity: even someone with limited means should still perform it with at least two, following the rule.
No. It explicitly affirms that a person of little wealth may still fulfill the rite in a valid minimum form, provided it follows the injunction.
Religious duty is not meant to be exclusionary; sincerity and adherence to the prescribed method matter, and practice should be scaled to one’s means without abandoning it.