Mahabharata Anushasna Parva (Dana Dharma Parva) Chapter 37
"'Yudhishthira said, "Which amongst these three persons, O grandsire, should be regarded as the best for making gifts unto, viz., one who is a thorough stranger, or one who is living with and who has been known to the giver for a long time, or one who presents himself before the giver, coming from a long distance?"
"'Bhishma said, "All these are equal. The eligibility of some consists in their soliciting alms for performing sacrifices or for paying the preceptor's fee or for maintaining their spouses and children. The eligibility of some for receiving gifts, consists in their following the vow of wandering over the earth, never soliciting anything but receiving when given. We should also give unto one what one seeks.[1] We should, however, make gifts without afflicting those that depend upon us. Even this is what we have heard. By afflicting one's dependants, one afflicts one's own self. The stranger,—one, that is, who has come for the first time,—should be regarded as a proper object of gifts. He who is familiar and well-known and has been living with the giver, should be regarded in the same light. The learned know that he too who comes from a distant place should be regarded in an equal light. |
References
- ↑ I expand this verse. After kriya bhavati patratwam is understood. Kriya includes the diverse objects for which persons solicit alms or gifts. Upansuvratam is maunam parivrajyam.
- ↑ It is said that food or other things, when given to an undeserving person, feels grief. What Yudhishthira asks is who the proper person is unto whom gifts may be made.
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