Shloka 21
अहिंसयित्वा ब्रह्महत्याविधानम् / Brahmahatyā incurred without physical violence
तेभ्यो हिरण्यं रत्नं वा गामश्चं वा ददाति यः । दश वर्षाणि विष्ठां स भुड्क्ते निरयमास्थित:,ऐसे लोगोंको जो सुवर्ण, रत्न, गौ अथवा अश्व आदि वस्तुओंका दान करता है वह नरकमें पड़कर दस वर्षोंतक विष्ठा खाता है
tebhyo hiraṇyaṃ ratnaṃ vā gāṃś ca vā dadāti yaḥ | daśa varṣāṇi viṣṭhāṃ sa bhuṅkte nirayam āsthitaḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: “Sesiapa yang memberi kepada orang seperti itu emas, permata, lembu, kuda, atau harta bernilai seumpamanya—dia akan jatuh ke neraka dan selama sepuluh tahun dipaksa hidup dengan memakan najis. Ajaran ini mengingatkan bahawa sedekah bukan sekadar memberi, tetapi mesti dipandu oleh pertimbangan tentang kelakuan dan kelayakan penerima, agar kemurahan hati tidak menjadi sekutu kepada kejahatan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity (dāna) must be guided by dharmic discernment: giving valuable gifts to morally blameworthy or prohibited recipients is treated as a serious fault, bringing severe karmic consequences.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma in the Anushasana Parva, he warns about improper giving: a donor who supports ‘such people’ (as defined in the surrounding passage) is said to suffer in hell for ten years, symbolically ‘eating filth’ as retribution.