Shloka 1
Nakṣatra-yoga-anusāreṇa Dāna-vidhiḥ
Gifts prescribed according to lunar mansions and yogas
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत अनुशासनपर्वके अन्तर्गत दानधर्मपर्वमें उनसठवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ ॥/ ५९ ॥। अपन का बा | अत---#क्राल षष्टितमो< ध्याय: श्रेष्ठ अयाचक
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
Yau ca syātāṃ caraṇenopapattannau yau vidyayā sadṛśau janmanā ca |
Tābhyāṃ dānaṃ katamasmai viśiṣṭam ayācakāya ca yācate ca ||
Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Kapag may dalawang tao na magkatulad sa asal, kapantay sa kaalaman, at kapantay sa pinagmulan, kanino higit na natatangi ang kaloob—sa hindi humihingi (ngunit karapat-dapat), o sa humihingi?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry central to dāna-dharma: when recipients are equal in virtue, learning, and birth, does the giver gain greater merit by giving proactively to a worthy person who does not ask, or by responding to a request? It sets up a discussion on intention, dignity, and discernment in charity.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s discourse on the dharma of giving, Yudhiṣṭhira poses a precise question to clarify the hierarchy of merit in charity. He compares two equally qualified recipients and asks which kind of recipient makes the gift ‘more distinguished’—the non-beggar (ayācaka) or the beggar (yācaka).