Shloka 15
Āśrama-dharma and Brahmacarya: Śuka’s Inquiry on Karma and Tyāga (शुक-प्रश्नः कर्मत्यागविवेकश्च)
अर्हतामनुरूपाणां नादेयं हास्ति किंचन । उच्चै: श्रवसमप्यश्च प्रापणीयं सतां विदु:
arhatām anurūpāṇāṁ nādeyaṁ hāsti kiṁcana | uccaiḥśravasam apy aśca prāpaṇīyaṁ satāṁ viduḥ ||
व्यास उवाच—अर्हतामनुरूपाणां नादेयं हि अस्ति किंचन। उच्चैःश्रवसमप्यश्वं सत्पात्रे प्रापणीयं सतां विदुः।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
That for truly worthy recipients, one should not treat any gift as ‘forbidden’ or ‘too great’; generosity should be proportionate to the recipient’s merit, even extending to exceptionally valuable gifts.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa states a principle of dāna-dharma: nothing is to be withheld from deserving persons, illustrating the point with the exemplary gift of the famed horse Uccaiḥśravas.