Shloka 1
Nakṣatra-yoga-anusāreṇa Dāna-vidhiḥ
Gifts prescribed according to lunar mansions and yogas
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत अनुशासनपर्वके अन्तर्गत दानधर्मपर्वमें उनसठवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ ॥/ ५९ ॥। अपन का बा | अत---#क्राल षष्टितमो< ध्याय: श्रेष्ठ अयाचक, धर्मात्मा, निर्धन एवं गुणवान्को दान देनेका विशेष फल युधिछिर उवाच यौ च स्यातां चरणेनोपपतन्नौ यौ विद्यया सदृशौ जन्मना च | ताभ्यां दानं कतमस्मै विशिष्ट- मयाचमानाय च याचते च
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
Yau ca syātāṃ caraṇenopapattannau yau vidyayā sadṛśau janmanā ca |
Tābhyāṃ dānaṃ katamasmai viśiṣṭam ayācakāya ca yācate ca ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Apabila ada dua orang yang sama pada tingkah laku, setara pada ilmu, dan setara pada kelahiran, kepada siapakah pemberian itu lebih utama—kepada yang tidak meminta (namun layak), atau kepada yang meminta?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry central to dāna-dharma: when recipients are equal in virtue, learning, and birth, does the giver gain greater merit by giving proactively to a worthy person who does not ask, or by responding to a request? It sets up a discussion on intention, dignity, and discernment in charity.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s discourse on the dharma of giving, Yudhiṣṭhira poses a precise question to clarify the hierarchy of merit in charity. He compares two equally qualified recipients and asks which kind of recipient makes the gift ‘more distinguished’—the non-beggar (ayācaka) or the beggar (yācaka).