Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 75 Shloka 11 - Mahabharata | Vietnamese | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 11

गोप्रदानविधिः (Gopradāna-vidhi) — Procedure and Praise of Cow-Gifting

Devanagari script

कथं वा बहुदाता स्यादल्पदात्रा सम: प्रभो । अल्पप्रदाता बहुद: कथं स्वित्‌ स्यादिहेश्वर

Transliteration

śakra uvāca | kathaṃ vā bahudātā syād alpādātrā samaḥ prabho | alpāpradātā bahudaḥ kathaṃ svit syād iheśvara prabho ||

Translation

“Bạch Chúa Tể! Làm sao người bố thí nhiều lại có thể ngang bằng người bố thí ít? Và bạch Đấng Chủ Tể chư thiên, làm sao người bố thí ít lại có thể sánh với kẻ đại thí chủ ngay trong đời này? Xin hãy giải rõ cho ta, bạch Chúa Tể.”

Word by Word

कथम्how?

वाor/indeed

बहु-दाताa great giver (one who gives much)

स्यात्would be / could become

अल्प-दात्राwith/like a small giver (one who gives little)

समःequal

प्रभोO lord

अल्प-प्रदाताa small giver (one who gives little)

बहु-दःgiving much / a great giver

कथम्how?

स्वित्pray/indeed (interrogative particle)

स्यात्would be / could become

इहhere (in this matter/world)

ईश्वरO lord

प्रभोO lord

Speaker

शक्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śakra (Indra)

Prabhu/Īśvara (the addressed lord)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: the moral worth of charity is not judged only by quantity. It invites the principle that intention, faith, purity of means, and proportion to one’s capacity can make a small gift spiritually equal to a large one, while pride or improper motive can diminish even great giving.

What is happening in the narrative?

Indra (Śakra) addresses a revered authority (Prabhu/Īśvara) and asks for clarification about the apparent paradox in the ethics of giving—how great and small donors can become equal in merit, and under what conditions a small donor may be regarded like a great donor.