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 disse: “Quando há duas pessoas iguais na conduta, iguais no saber e iguais no nascimento, a qual delas é mais distinto o dom: àquele que não pede (embora seja digno) ou àquele que pede?”
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).