Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
तमोरूपं न तस्यास्ति दीपकं य: प्रयच्छति । वर्षा-ऋतुमें दीपदान करनेसे मनुष्य चन्द्रमाके समान शोभा पाता है। जो दीपदान करता है, उसके लिये नरकका अन्धकार है ही नहीं
tamorūpaṃ na tasyāsti dīpakaṃ yaḥ prayacchati |
ผู้ใดถวายประทีปเป็นทาน ผู้นั้นย่อมไม่มีความมืดในรูปแห่งนรกเลย การถวายประทีปในฤดูฝนทำให้มนุษย์มีรัศมีงามดุจพระจันทร์
शक्र उवाच
Giving a lamp (dīpadāna) is praised as a dharmic act that symbolically and karmically dispels darkness; the donor gains radiance and is protected from the ‘darkness’ associated with hellish suffering.
Śakra (Indra) is speaking in a didactic context, commending the merit of charitable giving—specifically the gifting of a lamp—by stating that such a giver does not encounter darkness (understood as the darkness of naraka), and is likened to the moon in splendor.