17.21 Given expecting return Krishna speaks
यत्तु प्रत्युपकारार्थं फलमुद्दिश्य वा पुनः
दीयते च परिक्लिष्टं तद्दानं राजसं स्मृतम्
yat tu pratyupakārārthaṁ phalam uddiśhya vā punaḥ
dīyate cha parikliṣhṭaṁ tad dānaṁ rājasaṁ smṛitam
But a gift given expecting something in return, or looking to its fruit, or grudgingly, is held to be of restlessness.
Explanation
Three ways of giving that keep something back.
Expecting return, looking to the fruit, or giving grudgingly — pariklṣṭam, with pain.
The third is the interesting one. A reluctant gift is graded with the calculating one, because in both the giver is still counting — in one case the return, in the other the loss.
Word by word
- yat
- which
- tu
- but
- prati-upakāra-artham
- with the hope of a return
- phalam
- reward
- uddiśhya
- expectation
- vā
- or
- punaḥ
- again
- dīyate
- is given
- cha
- and
- parikliṣhṭam
- reluctantly
- tat
- that
- dānam
- charity
- rājasam
- in the mode of passion
- smṛitam
- is said to be
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