Shloka 3
जापक–इक्ष्वाकु–सत्यविवादः
The Jāpaka, Ikṣvāku, and the Dispute on Truth and Merit
दानं तु द्विविध॑ प्राहुः परत्रार्थमिहैव च । सद्धभयो यद् दीयते किंचित् तत्परत्रोपतिष्ठते
bhāradvāja uvāca | dānaṃ tu dvividhaṃ prāhuḥ paratrārtham ihaiva ca | sadbhyo yad dīyate kiñcit tat paratro-patiṣṭhate |
दानं तु द्विविधं प्राहुः परत्रार्थमिहैव च। सद्ध्येभ्यो यद् दीयते किंचित् तत् परत्रोपतिष्ठते॥
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity is evaluated by its intention and the worthiness of the recipient: gifts to the virtuous become spiritual capital bearing fruit in the hereafter, while gifts to the unworthy tend to yield only immediate, worldly returns. The fruit corresponds to the manner and object of giving.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, the sage Bhāradvāja instructs on dharma by classifying dāna (charity) into two types—otherworldly and worldly—and explains how the recipient’s character shapes where and how the giver experiences the result.