Shloka 23
Adhyaya 7 — Harishchandra Tested by Vishvamitra: The Gift of the Kingdom and the Pandava Curse-Backstory
उच्यतां भगवन् यत्ते दातव्यमविशङ्कितम् ।
दत्तमित्येव तद्विद्धि यद्यपि स्यात् सुदुर्लभम् ॥
ucyatāṃ bhagavan yat te dātavyam aviśaṅkitam |
dattam ity eva tad viddhi yady api syāt sudurlabham ||
भद्रं ते, भगवन्, ब्रूहि किं निःशङ्कं प्रदेयम्। ‘दत्तम्’ इति यदा निश्चयः, तदैव तत् दत्तं भवति—अत्यन्तदुर्लभेऽपि वस्तुनि।
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FAQs
The verse elevates the inner resolve (saṅkalpa) behind charity: giving should be undertaken without wavering, and the moral act is grounded in the sincere commitment to give—even when the gift is costly or rare. It emphasizes courage, steadiness, and a non-calculating attitude in dāna.
This verse aligns most naturally with Dharma/Ācāra instruction rather than the cosmological fivefold (sarga, pratisarga, vaṃśa, manvantara, vaṃśānucarita). In pancalakṣaṇa terms it is ancillary ethical teaching (not a direct instance of sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita).
Esoterically, it points to the primacy of inner offering: the ‘gift’ is consummated at the level of intention, suggesting that relinquishment begins in consciousness. The rarity of the object symbolizes the ego’s attachments; overcoming hesitation is an inner victory over possessiveness and fear.