Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 80
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
वर्षासु दीपदानेन शशिवच्छो भते नर:
varṣāsu dīpadānena śaśivac chobhate naraḥ
Wika ni Śakra: “Ang sinumang nag-aalay ng mga lampara sa panahon ng tag-ulan ay magniningning na gaya ng buwan—magiging lantad na bukal ng liwanag at patnubay sa gitna ng dilim at paghihirap. Pinupuri ng aral na ito ang kawanggawang napapanahon, na nakatutulong sa kapwa kapag mabigat ang kalagayan.”
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Timely charity is especially meritorious: giving light (lamps) in the rainy season symbolizes relieving others’ difficulty and making oneself radiant in virtue, like the moon that brightens darkness.
Indra (Śakra) is describing the फल (result) of a specific act of dāna: donating lamps during the rains. He frames it as a dharmic practice whose visible metaphor is lunar radiance.