Shloka 16
Sat-saṅga, Dharma-Nīti, Karma-Phala, Śauca, and Vairāgya
Overcoming Grief
दाता बलिर्याचकको मुरारिर्दानं मही विप्रमुखस्य मध्ये / दत्त्वा फलं बन्धनमेव लब्धं नमो ऽस्तु ते दैव यथेष्टकारिणे
dātā baliryācakako murārirdānaṃ mahī vipramukhasya madhye / dattvā phalaṃ bandhanameva labdhaṃ namo 'stu te daiva yatheṣṭakāriṇe
Bali ialah pemberi; Murāri (Viṣṇu) datang sebagai peminta. Anugerahnya ialah bumi, di hadapan brāhmaṇa yang utama. Setelah memberi, hasil yang diperoleh ternyata hanyalah belenggu. Salam sembah kepadamu, wahai Takdir, yang bertindak menurut kehendakmu.
Garuda (Vinata-putra), addressing Daiva (Destiny) while recounting/reflecting on Bali–Vāmana episode in the Vishnu–Garuda dialogue context
Concept: Even exemplary giving (Bali’s dāna to Murāri as supplicant) can culminate in bondage, showing outcomes are governed by daiva/karma beyond simplistic moral accounting.
Vedantic Theme: Limits of outcome-based ethics; īśvara-līlā and karma-phala complexity; surrender (śaraṇāgati) when results contradict expectations.
Application: Do right action without attachment to results; interpret reversals as part of a larger order; keep generosity but release entitlement to reward.
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Type: yajña-śālā / royal ritual ground
Related Themes: Garuda Purana teachings on dāna and non-attachment to phala (general parallel)
FAQs
The verse highlights that outcomes can appear paradoxical—Bali gives righteously, yet receives bondage—prompting reflection on how destiny and karmic consequence unfold beyond surface morality.
It suggests that actions yield results in complex ways: even dharmic acts like dāna can produce restricting consequences when they serve a larger divine order, shaping one’s karmic trajectory toward humility and surrender.
Give with discernment and surrender the outcome: practice charity as dharma without ego or expectation, accepting that results may serve a deeper corrective or spiritual purpose.