Shloka 56
The Glory of Charity: Land-Gifts, Śālagrāma Donation, and Food–Water as Supreme Gifts
दाता दानं न दद्याद्वै समुत्सृज्य द्विजातये । स याति निरयं घोरं सर्वजंतुभयावहम्
dātā dānaṃ na dadyādvai samutsṛjya dvijātaye | sa yāti nirayaṃ ghoraṃ sarvajaṃtubhayāvaham
ദാനവ്രതം ഏറ്റെടുത്തിട്ടും ദ്വിജനു ദാനം നൽകാതെ ഉപേക്ഷിക്കുന്ന ദാതാവ്, സർവ്വജീവികൾക്കും ഭയങ്കരമായ ഘോര നരകത്തിലേക്ക് പോകുന്നു.
Unspecified (narratorial/teaching voice within Brahma-khaṇḍa Adhyaya 24)
Concept: Sankalpa-bhaṅga (breaking a vowed gift) is a grave adharma leading to naraka; integrity in dāna is itself a spiritual discipline.
Application: Do not promise donations/aid unless you will fulfill them; if circumstances change, communicate humbly and make amends rather than silently defaulting.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A solemn donor stands before a serene brāhmaṇa, a promised gift hovering like a fading aura between them. Behind the donor, the ground splits into a shadowy naraka-vision—iron gates, smoky winds, and frightened creatures—showing the karmic consequence of a broken vow.","primary_figures":["a remorseful donor (gṛhastha)","a composed brāhmaṇa (dvija)","Yama’s attendants (as shadow-forms)"],"setting":"Threshold of a village āśrama courtyard that visually dissolves into a naraka mirage in the background.","lighting_mood":"temple lamp-lit","color_palette":["smoky charcoal","ash gray","deep maroon","brass gold","pale sandalwood"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a didactic dharma tableau—brāhmaṇa seated on a low wooden pīṭha with palm-leaf manuscripts, donor standing with empty hands and broken sankalpa gesture; behind them a stylized naraka vignette with Yama-dūtas in dark tones; heavy gold leaf halos around dharma symbols, rich vermilion and emerald borders, gem-studded ornaments on the brāhmaṇa’s sacred thread and vessels, South Indian iconographic clarity.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: intimate courtyard scene with delicate linework—brāhmaṇa calm, donor anxious; a misty, symbolic naraka landscape appears as a cloud-like inset with iron gates and frightened animals; cool slate blues and muted reds, refined faces, sparse trees and a distant riverbank horizon.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines—brāhmaṇa with luminous ochre skin tone and clear mudrā of admonition, donor in subdued colors; naraka forms as a dramatic side-panel with Yama-dūtas, smoky reds and blacks; temple-wall aesthetic with flat yet powerful color blocks (red/yellow/green) and stylized eyes.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: moral allegory framed by lotus and tulasi borders—central courtyard with brāhmaṇa and donor; background contains a circular medallion of naraka imagery rendered symbolically; deep indigo ground, gold detailing, intricate floral borders, peacocks perched as witnesses of dharma."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low temple bell","distant conch shell","ominous wind","brief silence between pādas"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: दद्याद्वै = दद्यात् + वै. सर्वजंतु- in IAST shows jaṃtu; Devanagari जन्तु. Compound treated as determinative (tatpurusha) with verbal-noun ‘आवह’.
FAQs
It stresses integrity in charity: once one has undertaken or promised a gift, reneging—especially toward a deserving recipient like a dvija—is treated as a serious moral breach with karmic consequences.
In many Dharma-focused passages, dvija (often brāhmaṇa) represents a traditional recipient of dāna; the verse highlights the gravity of failing in one’s vowed duty toward such recipients.
It frames broken commitments in dāna as a cause for negative karmic result, described here as falling into a frightening naraka (hell), underscoring accountability for one’s pledged actions.