Mahabharata — Svargarohana Parva, Shloka 79
Devanagari script
तदर्थ पादशेषं वा वित्तशाव्यविवर्जितम् । यद् यदेवात्मनो<भीष्टं तत् तद् देयं द्विजातये
Transliteration
tadarthaṃ pādaśeṣaṃ vā vittāśāvyavivarjitam | yad yad evātmano 'bhīṣṭaṃ tat tad deyaṃ dvijātaye ||
Translation
毗舍摩波耶那说：“若不能备齐全量，亦当奉献所余之分——在财物尚足之时，切莫染上吝啬之垢。凡自身所珍爱之物，皆应以彼物施与二生者（婆罗门）为赠。”
Word by Word
{'tadartham''for that purpose
{'tadartham':
with that aim (of giving/merit)', 'pādaśeṣam''a remaining quarter/fraction
with that aim (of giving/merit)', 'pādaśeṣam':
what is left as a portion', 'vā''or', 'vitta': 'wealth, money, means', 'āśāvyavivarjitam': 'free from stinginess/avarice
what is left as a portion', 'vā':
not tainted by miserliness (especially when one has wealth)', 'yad yad''whatever, whichever (things)', 'eva': 'indeed, precisely', 'ātmanaḥ': 'of oneself
not tainted by miserliness (especially when one has wealth)', 'yad yad':
one’s own', 'abhīṣṭam''desired, dear, cherished', 'tat tat': 'that very (same) thing', 'deyam': 'should be given
one’s own', 'abhīṣṭam':
fit to be given (as a gift)', 'dvijātaye''to a twice-born
fit to be given (as a gift)', 'dvijātaye':
Speaker
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Characters & Entities
V
VaiśaṃpāyanaD
dvijāti (Brāhmaṇa)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Educational Q&A
Charity should be sincere and free from miserliness: even if one can give only a small fraction, one should still give; and the best gifts are those one truly values, offered to worthy recipients such as Brāhmaṇas.
In the Svargārohaṇa context, Vaiśaṃpāyana continues ethical instruction emphasizing dāna: the measure may vary with capacity, but the inner attitude must not be stingy, and one should give cherished items to the twice-born.