3.12 Taking without giving is theft Krishna speaks
इष्टान्भोगान्हि वो देवा दास्यन्ते यज्ञभाविताः
तैर्दत्तानप्रदायैभ्यो यो भुङ्क्ते स्तेन एव सः
iṣhṭān bhogān hi vo devā dāsyante yajña-bhāvitāḥ
tair dattān apradāyaibhyo yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ
Nourished by sacrifice, the gods will give you what you need. But one who enjoys their gifts without offering anything back is a thief.
Explanation
One who takes and gives nothing back is a thief.
stena eva saḥ. The word is unambiguous.
Given 3.10 and 3.11, the charge is structural rather than moral: to consume what the exchange produced while standing outside the exchange is to be taking from somewhere.
Word by word
- iṣhṭān
- desired
- bhogān
- necessities of life
- hi
- certainly
- vaḥ
- unto you
- devāḥ
- the celestial gods
- dāsyante
- will grant
- yajña-bhāvitāḥ
- satisfied by sacrifice
- taiḥ
- by them
- dattān
- things granted
- apradāya
- without offering
- ebhyaḥ
- to them
- yaḥ
- who
- bhuṅkte
- enjoys
- stenaḥ
- thieves
- eva
- verily
- saḥ
- they
Long-press or right-click the image to copy it. Nothing is uploaded — it is drawn here, on your device.