Śoka-śamana: Kṛṣṇa’s Consolation and Nārada’s Exempla to Sṛñjaya
Chapter 29
ब्राह्मणेभ्यो ददौ निष्कान् सदसि प्रतते नृपः । तुभ्यं निष्क तुभ्यं निष्कमिति क्रोशन्ति वै द्विजा:
brāhmaṇebhyo dadau niṣkān sadasi pratate nṛpaḥ | tubhyaṃ niṣka tubhyaṃ niṣkam iti krośanti vai dvijāḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vāyu: “Sa ganap na nagkakatipong bulwagan ng palasyo, namahagi ang hari ng niṣka (niṣka—palamuting ginto/salaping ginto) sa mga Brahmin. At ang mga ‘dalawang ulit na isinilang’ ay patuloy na sumisigaw, ‘Isang niṣka para sa iyo! Isang niṣka para sa iyo!’—habang ipinapamahagi ang mga kaloob.”
वायुदेव उवाच
The verse highlights the dharmic ideal of royal generosity: a king gains merit and social harmony by publicly supporting learned Brahmins through dāna (gift-giving), especially in a formal assembly where the act becomes a model of righteous conduct.
Vāyu describes a scene in which a king, seated in a fully convened court, distributes niṣkas as gifts to Brahmins. The recipients (or the assembled twice-born) loudly call out the distribution—‘to you a niṣka, to you a niṣka’—conveying the public, ceremonial nature of the donation.