Shloka 22
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving
Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum
देवार्थ पितृयज्ञार्थमन्नं श्रद्धाउ55हतं मया । न दत्तमर्थकामेन देयमन्नं पुरा किल
devārthaṁ pitṛyajñārtham annaṁ śraddhayā ujjhitaṁ mayā | na dattam arthakāmena deyam annaṁ purā kila ||
पूर्वजन्मी मी देवांसाठी आणि पितृयज्ञासाठी श्रद्धेने अन्न गोळा करीत असे; पण धनलोभामुळे जे अन्न दानास योग्य होते, त्याचेही दान मी करीत नसे.
कीट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Merely setting aside resources for sacred purposes is not enough; withholding what is meant to be given—out of greed—violates dāna-dharma and leads to adverse karmic results.
The speaker (the ‘kīṭa’) confesses a past-life fault: he collected food for offerings to gods and ancestors but, motivated by desire for wealth, failed to donate even the portion that should have been given away.