Shloka 20
Ajagara-vrata (The ‘Python’ Discipline): Prahrāda Questions a Wandering Sage
वज्ान् महाधनांश्वैव वैदूर्याजिनराड्कवान् । रत्नराशीन् विनिक्षिप्य दक्षिणार्थे स भारत
vajrān mahādhanāṁś caiva vaidūryājinaraṅkavān | ratnarāśīn vinikṣipya dakṣiṇārthe sa bhārata ||
Sabi ni Bhīṣma: “O Bhārata, matapos itabi ang mga bunton ng hiyas bilang dakṣiṇā—kaloob na pangsaserdote—kabilang ang mga diyamante, malalaking kayamanan, mga batong vaidūrya, at maging mahahalagang balat, inayos niya ang mga yaman upang ipamahagi.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wealth becomes dharmic when it is used with reverence and restraint—especially in honoring worthy recipients after hospitality or ritual. The verse frames dakṣiṇā not as display, but as a duty that completes righteous giving.
Bhīṣma narrates an episode where a powerful giver sets out heaps of precious items—diamonds, gems like vaidūrya, and valuable hides—explicitly for dakṣiṇā, i.e., gifts meant for honored Brāhmaṇas after being hosted.