Shloka 41
Prāyaścitta-vidhāna: Tapas, Dāna, Vrata, and Proportional Expiation (प्रायश्चित्तविधानम्)
काष्टैराद्रैर्यथा वह्नलिरुपस्तीर्णो न दीप्यते । तपःस्वाध्यायचारित्रैरेवं हीन: प्रतिग्रही,'जैसे गीली लकड़ीसे ढकी हुई आग प्रज्वलित नहीं होती, उसी प्रकार तपस्या, स्वाध्याय तथा सदाचारसे हीन ब्राह्मण यदि दान ग्रहण कर ले तो वह उसे पचा नहीं सकता
kāṣṭhair ādrair yathā vahnir upastīrṇo na dīpyate | tapaḥsvādhyāyacāritraiḥ evaṁ hīnaḥ pratigrahī ||
Assim como o fogo, coberto por lenha úmida, não se acende, do mesmo modo o brâmane desprovido de austeridade, de estudo védico e de boa conduta: se aceita dádivas, não consegue assimilá-las; o próprio receber torna-se nocivo.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Receiving gifts (pratigraha) is ethically weighty: without tapas (discipline), svādhyāya (Vedic study), and cāritra (good conduct), a Brahmin is unfit to accept dāna. Such gifts cannot be ‘digested’—they do not nourish dharma but instead burden and degrade the recipient.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right living, Vyāsa uses a vivid simile: fire smothered by wet wood cannot blaze. Likewise, a spiritually unprepared recipient who takes donations cannot properly bear their moral consequences, emphasizing qualifications and integrity in religious giving and receiving.