Mahabharata 3.201.127 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 127
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
नाभूमिदो भूमिमश्राति राजन् नायानदो यानमारुह्य याति । यान् यान् कामानू ब्राह्मुणे भ्यो ददाति तांसतान् कामान् जायमान: स भुड्क्ते
nābhūmido bhūmim aśnāti rājan nāyānado yānam āruhya yāti | yān yān kāmān brāhmaṇebhyo dadāti tāṃs tān kāmān jāyamānaḥ sa bhuṅkte rājan |
मार्कण्डेय उवाच— न भूमिदो भूमिमश्नुते राजन् न यानदो यानमारुह्य याति। यान् यान् कामान् ब्राह्मणेभ्यो ददाति तान् तान् कामान् जायमानः स भुङ्क्ते॥
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity (especially gifts to Brahmins) is presented as a direct cause of corresponding enjoyments in future states: giving land leads to enjoying the earth, giving vehicles leads to conveyance, and gifts of desired goods return as future enjoyments through karma and rebirth.
Mārkaṇḍeya addresses a king and explains the fruit of dāna: specific forms of giving determine the kind of comfort and access one gains in the afterlife and in future births, reinforcing a dharma-based economy of merit.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.