Shloka 56
The Glory of Charity: Land-Gifts, Śālagrāma Donation, and Food–Water as Supreme Gifts
दाता दानं न दद्याद्वै समुत्सृज्य द्विजातये । स याति निरयं घोरं सर्वजंतुभयावहम्
dātā dānaṃ na dadyādvai samutsṛjya dvijātaye | sa yāti nirayaṃ ghoraṃ sarvajaṃtubhayāvaham
اگر کوئی داتا نذرِ دان کا عہد کر کے بھی دو بار جنمے (برہمن) کو وعدہ کیا ہوا دان نہ دے، تو وہ ایسے ہولناک دوزخ میں جاتا ہے جو تمام جانداروں کے لیے دہشت ناک ہے۔
Unspecified (narratorial/teaching voice within Brahma-khaṇḍa Adhyaya 24)
Concept: Sankalpa-bhaṅga (breaking a vowed gift) is a grave adharma leading to naraka; integrity in dāna is itself a spiritual discipline.
Application: Do not promise donations/aid unless you will fulfill them; if circumstances change, communicate humbly and make amends rather than silently defaulting.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A solemn donor stands before a serene brāhmaṇa, a promised gift hovering like a fading aura between them. Behind the donor, the ground splits into a shadowy naraka-vision—iron gates, smoky winds, and frightened creatures—showing the karmic consequence of a broken vow.","primary_figures":["a remorseful donor (gṛhastha)","a composed brāhmaṇa (dvija)","Yama’s attendants (as shadow-forms)"],"setting":"Threshold of a village āśrama courtyard that visually dissolves into a naraka mirage in the background.","lighting_mood":"temple lamp-lit","color_palette":["smoky charcoal","ash gray","deep maroon","brass gold","pale sandalwood"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a didactic dharma tableau—brāhmaṇa seated on a low wooden pīṭha with palm-leaf manuscripts, donor standing with empty hands and broken sankalpa gesture; behind them a stylized naraka vignette with Yama-dūtas in dark tones; heavy gold leaf halos around dharma symbols, rich vermilion and emerald borders, gem-studded ornaments on the brāhmaṇa’s sacred thread and vessels, South Indian iconographic clarity.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: intimate courtyard scene with delicate linework—brāhmaṇa calm, donor anxious; a misty, symbolic naraka landscape appears as a cloud-like inset with iron gates and frightened animals; cool slate blues and muted reds, refined faces, sparse trees and a distant riverbank horizon.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold black outlines—brāhmaṇa with luminous ochre skin tone and clear mudrā of admonition, donor in subdued colors; naraka forms as a dramatic side-panel with Yama-dūtas, smoky reds and blacks; temple-wall aesthetic with flat yet powerful color blocks (red/yellow/green) and stylized eyes.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: moral allegory framed by lotus and tulasi borders—central courtyard with brāhmaṇa and donor; background contains a circular medallion of naraka imagery rendered symbolically; deep indigo ground, gold detailing, intricate floral borders, peacocks perched as witnesses of dharma."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"dramatic","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low temple bell","distant conch shell","ominous wind","brief silence between pādas"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: दद्याद्वै = दद्यात् + वै. सर्वजंतु- in IAST shows jaṃtu; Devanagari जन्तु. Compound treated as determinative (tatpurusha) with verbal-noun ‘आवह’.
FAQs
It stresses integrity in charity: once one has undertaken or promised a gift, reneging—especially toward a deserving recipient like a dvija—is treated as a serious moral breach with karmic consequences.
In many Dharma-focused passages, dvija (often brāhmaṇa) represents a traditional recipient of dāna; the verse highlights the gravity of failing in one’s vowed duty toward such recipients.
It frames broken commitments in dāna as a cause for negative karmic result, described here as falling into a frightening naraka (hell), underscoring accountability for one’s pledged actions.