Shloka 46

Devanagari script

व्ययगुणमपि साधु कर्मणा संश्रयन्ते भवति मनुजलोकाद्‌ देवलोको विशिष्ट: । बहुतरसुसमृद्ध्या मानुषाणां गृहाणि पितृवनभवनाभं दृश्यते चामराणाम्‌,जो दान करनेके कारण निर्धन हो गया है, ऐसे सत्पुरुषके पास उसके सत्कर्मके कारण देवता भी पहुँचते हैं और इस प्रकार उसका घर मनुष्यलोककी अपेक्षा श्रेष्ठ देवलोक-सा हो जाता है। परंतु जहाँ दान नहीं होता वह घर बड़ी भारी समृद्धिसे भरा हो तो भी देवताओंकी दृष्टिमें वह श्मशानके ही तुल्य जान पड़ता है

Transliteration

vyayaguṇam api sādhu karmaṇā saṃśrayante bhavati manujalokād devaloko viśiṣṭaḥ | bahutarasusamṛddhyā mānuṣāṇāṃ gṛhāṇi pitṛvanabhavanābhaṃ dṛśyate cāmarāṇām ||

Translation

Bhishma berkata: “Walaupun seorang yang baik menjadi miskin kerana bersedekah, para dewa tetap mendekatinya kerana kebajikannya. Maka rumahnya, dibandingkan dengan dunia manusia, menjadi laksana syurga yang lebih mulia. Tetapi di tempat yang tiada pemberian, walaupun rumah itu melimpah dengan kekayaan, pada pandangan para dewa ia tidak lebih daripada tanah pembakaran mayat.”

Word by Word

व्ययगुणम्the quality/virtue of spending (charitable giving)

अपिeven/also

साधुwell; rightly

कर्मणाby (his) deed/merit

संश्रयन्तेtake refuge; resort (to him)

भवतिbecomes; is

मनुजलोकात्than the world of men; from the human world

देवलोकःthe world of the gods; heaven

विशिष्टःsuperior; distinguished

बहुतरसुसमृद्ध्याby very great prosperity/abundance

मानुषाणाम्of men; of humans

गृहाणिhouses

पितृवनभवनाभम्resembling a pitṛ-forest dwelling (i.e., like a cremation-ground/ancestral forest)

दृश्यतेis seen; appears

चand

अमराणाम्of the immortals (gods)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Devaloka (world of the gods)

Manujaloka (world of humans)

Amaras (gods)

Pitṛvana (cremation-ground/ancestral grove)

Gṛha (house/home)

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?

Giving (dāna) sanctifies a person and a household: even if charity leads to material loss, the merit of righteous action draws divine regard, making the home 'heaven-like'; wealth without generosity is spiritually barren, likened to a cremation-ground.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anushasana Parva), he contrasts two households: one of a virtuous giver who may have become poor yet is honored by the gods, and another rich household lacking charity that appears inauspicious and empty of merit.