Shloka 6
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
आरूढपतिते दत्तमन्यायोपहृतं च यत् । व्यर्थ तु पतिते दान॑ ब्राह्मणे तस्करे तथा,जो वानप्रस्थ या संन्यास-आश्रमसे पुन: गृहस्थ-आश्रममें लौट आया हो, उसे “आरूढ़- पतित' कहते हैं। उसको दिया हुआ दान व्यर्थ होता है। अन्यायसे कमाये हुए धनका दान भी व्यर्थ ही है। पतित ब्राह्मण तथा चोरको दिया हुआ दान भी व्यर्थ होता है
ārūḍha-patite dattaṁ anyāyopahṛtaṁ ca yat | vyarthaṁ tu patite dānaṁ brāhmaṇe taskare tathā ||
उच्च आश्रमधर्म स्वीकारून नंतर जो पतित झाला, अशा ‘आरूढ-पतित’ाला दिलेले दान निष्फळ; अन्यायाने मिळवलेल्या धनातून केलेले दानही निष्फळ. पतित ब्राह्मणाला आणि चोराला दिलेले दानही व्यर्थ ठरते।
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity is not automatically meritorious: it becomes meaningful only when the wealth is righteously acquired and the recipient is a worthy vessel. Gifts to an ‘ārūḍha-patita’ (one fallen from higher vows), to a morally fallen brāhmaṇa, or to a thief are declared fruitless, and offerings made from unjustly gained wealth are likewise without spiritual result.
In Mārkaṇḍeya’s instruction on dharma, he lays down criteria for valid dāna (giving). He lists cases where giving fails to yield merit—because of the recipient’s fallen conduct or because the donor’s wealth is tainted by injustice—thereby guiding the listener toward ethically grounded generosity.