Shloka 8
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
ब्रह्मबन्धुषु यद् दत्तं यद् दत्तं वृषलीपतौ । स्त्रीजनेषु च यद् दत्तं व्यालग्राहे तथैव च
brahmabandhuṣu yad dattaṃ yad dattaṃ vṛṣalīpatau | strījaneṣu ca yad dattaṃ vyālagrāhe tathaiva ca
Wika ni Mārkaṇḍeya: “Anumang handog na ibinibigay sa isang ‘Brahmin sa pangalan lamang’ (yaong walang tunay na asal-Brahmin), anumang ibinibigay sa asawa ng babaeng mababang uri, anumang ibinibigay sa kababaihan bilang isang pangkat nang walang pag-iingat, at gayundin anumang ibinibigay kapag ang tao’y nasakmal o nasilo ng mabangis na maninila—ang gayong pagbibigay ay itinuturing na may kapintasan sa dharma, sapagkat ginawa ito nang hindi isinasaalang-alang ang karapat-dapat, ang layon, at ang wastong pagkakataon.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity (dāna) must be guided by discernment: the recipient’s worthiness and the context of giving matter. Gifts made to improper recipients or under coercive, fear-driven circumstances are portrayed as ethically flawed and spiritually unfruitful.
Mārkaṇḍeya is instructing his listeners on standards of dharma, specifically evaluating types of giving. He lists examples of donations considered misdirected—given to unworthy persons or in compromised situations—within a broader didactic passage on righteous conduct.