Shloka 75
Nīti-saṅgraha: Conduct, Association, Kali-yuga Decline, and the Supremacy of Vidyā
वृथा वृष्टिः समुद्रस्य वृथा तृप्तस्य भोजनम् / वृथा दानं समृद्धस्य नीचस्य सुकृतं वथा
vṛthā vṛṣṭiḥ samudrasya vṛthā tṛptasya bhojanam / vṛthā dānaṃ samṛddhasya nīcasya sukṛtaṃ vathā
സമുദ്രത്തിലേക്കു പെയ്യുന്ന മഴ വ്യർത്ഥം; തൃപ്തനായവന് കൊടുക്കുന്ന ഭോജനം വ്യർത്ഥം. സമൃദ്ധനു നൽകുന്ന ദാനം വ്യർത്ഥം; അതുപോലെ നീചനും അയോഗ്യനും വേണ്ടി ചെയ്യുന്ന പുണ്യവും വ്യർത്ഥം.
Lord Vishnu (in discourse to Garuda/Vainateya)
Concept: Dana and effort must be directed with discernment; giving where there is no need or no receptivity yields little fruit.
Vedantic Theme: Viveka and yukti in karma: right action depends on desha-kala-patra; intention alone is insufficient without appropriateness.
Application: Prioritize charity to the needy and worthy causes; avoid performative giving; match help to real need and capacity to benefit.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: natural feature
Related Themes: Garuda Purana (niti/dharma passages): emphasis on patra (worthy recipient) and meaningful dana
FAQs
This verse stresses that giving should be guided by discernment: charity that does not meet a real need or goes to an unworthy recipient becomes spiritually “fruitless,” yielding little or no merit.
It implies that karmic outcomes depend not only on the act (giving/doing good) but also on context and eligibility—right action aligned with dharma produces meaningful punya, while misdirected acts are considered ineffective.
Give where it genuinely helps: support the needy, the virtuous, and dharmic causes; avoid performative or convenience-based giving that merely benefits those already affluent or empowers harmful, unethical conduct.