17.20 A gift to one who cannot repay Krishna speaks
दातव्यमिति यद्दानं दीयतेऽनुपकारिणे
देशे काले च पात्रे च तद्दानं सात्त्विकं स्मृतम्
dātavyam iti yad dānaṁ dīyate ‘nupakāriṇe
deśhe kāle cha pātre cha tad dānaṁ sāttvikaṁ smṛitam
A gift given because it should be given, to one who cannot return it, in the right place and at the right time and to a worthy person, is held to be of clarity.
Explanation
The gift given where nothing can come back.
Because it should be given, to one who cannot return it, in the right place, at the right time, to a worthy person.
The condition that does the work is cannot return it. It removes the possibility of exchange, which is the only way to be sure the giving was not a transaction.
Word by word
- dātavyam
- worthy of charity
- iti
- thus
- yat
- which
- dānam
- charity
- dīyate
- is given
- anupakāriṇe
- to one who cannot give in return
- deśhe
- in the proper place
- kāle
- at the proper time
- cha
- and
- pātre
- to a worthy person
- cha
- and
- tat
- that
- dānam
- charity
- sāttvikam
- in the mode of goodness
- smṛitam
- is stated to be
Long-press or right-click the image to copy it. Nothing is uploaded — it is drawn here, on your device.