Shloka 15
ब्राह्मण–क्षत्रिय-श्रेष्ठता-विवादः
Arjuna–Vāyu Dialogue on Brāhmaṇa and Kṣatriya Precedence
एवं संवत्सरं कृत्वा दानं बहुफलं लभेत् वल्मीके बलिमादाय तन्नो बहुफलं मतम्
evaṁ saṁvatsaraṁ kṛtvā dānaṁ bahu-phalaṁ labhet | valmīke balim ādāya tan no bahu-phalaṁ matam ||
Sinabi ni Reṇukā: “Kung isasagawa ng isang tao ang gawaing pagbibigay na ito sa loob ng isang buong taon, makakamit niya ang saganang kabutihang-loob at gantimpala. Ngunit ang pagkuha ng handog na bali na nakalaan para sa bunton ng langgam (valmīka) ay hindi, sa aming pananaw, isang gawaing nagbubunga ng dakilang kapakinabangan.”
रेणुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sustained charity (dāna) practiced over time yields great spiritual fruit, whereas appropriating what has been set aside as an offering—here, an offering associated with the valmīka—is ethically improper and not regarded as highly meritorious.
Renukā contrasts two actions: (1) performing charitable giving continuously for a year, which brings abundant merit, and (2) taking away an offering placed for the valmīka, which she rejects as a source of ‘great fruit,’ emphasizing correct conduct around offerings.