Shloka 3
The Glory of Charity: Land-Gifts, Śālagrāma Donation, and Food–Water as Supreme Gifts
क्षितिं ससस्यां यो दद्याद्ब्राह्मणाय द्विजोत्तम । विष्णुलोके सुखं भुंक्ते यावदिंद्राश्चतुर्दश
kṣitiṃ sasasyāṃ yo dadyādbrāhmaṇāya dvijottama | viṣṇuloke sukhaṃ bhuṃkte yāvadiṃdrāścaturdaśa
اے برترین دِویج، جو کوئی کھیتی سمیت زرخیز زمین برہمن کو دان کرے، وہ وِشنو لوک میں چودہ اِندروں کے زمانے تک سکھ بھوگتا ہے۔
Unspecified (narratorial instruction within Brahma-khaṇḍa context)
Concept: Giving fertile, crop-bearing land to a brāhmaṇa yields prolonged heavenly/otherworldly happiness in Viṣṇu’s realm, measured by cosmic time (fourteen Indras).
Application: Give in ways that sustain life and dharma (food security, agriculture, livelihoods, education); ensure the gift is ‘sasasyā’—productive and beneficial, not merely symbolic.
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A lush, harvest-ready field glows with ripened grain as a brāhmaṇa receives a deed-like palm-leaf and a ceremonial water libation from a donor. Above the horizon, Vaikuṇṭha manifests—crystal palaces, flying garuḍa banners, and Śrī Hari enthroned—while a ring of fourteen luminous Indra-figures encircle the sky like a cosmic clock.","primary_figures":["donor (dvija/householder)","brāhmaṇa recipient","Śrī Hari","Garuḍa","symbolic fourteen Indras"],"setting":"Agrarian landscape with granary, irrigation channel, and ritual platform at the field’s edge; celestial overlay of Vaikuṇṭha.","lighting_mood":"golden dawn","color_palette":["wheat gold","jade green","sky sapphire","pearl white","vermillion"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: foreground bhū-dāna beside a ripe paddy field, donor pouring water into brāhmaṇa’s hands; background Vaikuṇṭha with Śrī Hari and Garuḍa, heavy gold leaf architecture, ornate crowns, ruby-green garments, haloed ‘fourteen Indras’ as small radiant medallions around the border.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: lyrical countryside with ripened crops and a small ritual scene; delicate Vaikuṇṭha vision in the upper sky with soft blues and whites; refined faces, gentle gradients, minimal gilding, Himalayan-like distant hills for poetic scale.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: strong outlines of donor and brāhmaṇa, stylized grain stalk patterns; upper register shows Vishnu on serpent couch or throne with Garuḍa emblem; saturated reds/yellows/greens, temple mural symmetry, large expressive eyes.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: Krishna-Vishnu centered Vaikuṇṭha vision above a field; ornate lotus borders, cows near the granary, peacocks on fence posts; deep indigo sky with gold motifs, intricate floral vines framing ‘fourteen Indras’ as circular aureoles."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"devotional","suggested_raga":"Desh","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["shehnai-like sustained notes","temple bells","wind through grain","conch shell"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: दद्याद्ब्राह्मणाय = दद्याद् + ब्राह्मणाय; यावदिंद्राश्चतुर्दश = यावत् + इन्द्राः + चतुर्दश (चतुर्दश संख्यापदं ‘इन्द्राः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)
FAQs
It teaches that dāna (charitable gifting)—specifically gifting fertile land with crops to a brāhmaṇa—yields an exalted reward: prolonged enjoyment of bliss in Viṣṇu’s realm.
It is a Purāṇic way of expressing a vast duration across cosmic eras: multiple successive Indras preside over different periods, so “as long as fourteen Indras” signifies an extremely long span of merit.
It emphasizes generosity and support of learned spiritual life (brāhmaṇas) through materially meaningful gifts (land and sustenance), presenting charity as a direct cause of spiritual and heavenly well-being.