Shloka 31
लब्धानामपि वित्तानां बोद्धव्यौ द्वावतिक्रमौ । अपात्रे प्रतिपत्तिश्व पाये चाप्रतिपादनम्,“प्राप्त हुए धनका उपयोग करनेमें दो प्रकारकी भूलें हुआ करती हैं, जिन्हें ध्यानमें रखना चाहिये। पहली भूल है अपात्रको धन देना और दूसरी है सुपात्रको धन न देना'
labdhānām api vittānāṃ boddhavyau dvāv atikramau | apātre pratipattiś ca pātre cāpratipādanam ||
लब्धानामपि वित्तानां बोद्धव्यौ द्वावतिक्रमौ। अपात्रे प्रतिपत्तिश्च पात्रे चाप्रतिपादनम्॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wealth is not ethically neutral once acquired; dharma depends on its proper use. Two key failures are (1) giving to the unworthy (apātra-dāna), which misdirects resources and can empower adharma, and (2) not giving to the worthy (pātra-anudāna), which neglects rightful support and diminishes the merit and social good that proper giving sustains.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct after the war, Vaiśampāyana continues the didactic discourse by highlighting practical moral errors in handling wealth—framing charity and allocation as areas where one must exercise discernment about worthiness.