Shloka 5

Devanagari script

युधिछिर उवाच अपीडया च भूतानां धर्मस्याहिंसया तथा । पात्र विद्यात्‌ तु तत्त्वेन यस्मै दत्त न संतपेत्‌,युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--पितामह! किसी प्राणीको पीड़ा न दी जाय और धर्ममें भी बाधा न आने पाये, इस प्रकार दान देना उचित है; परंतु पात्रकी यथार्थ पहचान कैसे हो? जिससे दिया हुआ दान पीछे संतापका कारण न बने

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: apīḍayā ca bhūtānāṃ dharmasyāhiṃsayā tathā | pātraṃ vidyāt tu tattvena yasmai dattaṃ na saṃtapet ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Wahai Datuk Agung! Sedekah hendaklah diberikan sehingga tiada makhluk hidup disakiti dan dharma tidak terhalang—yakni selaras dengan ahimsa. Namun bagaimana seseorang dapat mengetahui dengan sebenar-benarnya siapakah penerima yang layak, agar pemberian yang telah diberi tidak kelak menjadi sebab penyesalan?”

Word by Word

युधिष्ठिरःYudhiṣṭhira

उवाचsaid

अपीडयाby non-harming / without causing pain

चand

भूतानाम्of beings

धर्मस्यof dharma

अहिंसयाby non-violence

तथाthus / in that manner

पात्रम्a worthy recipient

विद्यात्should know / should ascertain

तुbut / indeed

तत्त्वेनin truth / truly

यस्मैto whom

दत्तम्given (gift)

नnot

संतपेत्should regret / should be distressed

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Charity must be guided by ahimsa and dharma: giving should not harm beings nor violate righteousness. Therefore, ethical giving requires discernment of the recipient’s worthiness (pātratva) so that the act of giving does not later lead to moral regret.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira asks the elder authority (implicitly Bhīṣma) how to identify a truly worthy recipient for gifts, emphasizing that donations should be non-injurious and aligned with dharma, and should not become a cause of later remorse.