TEXT 20

Devanagari

दातव्यमिति यद्दानं दीयतेऽनुपकारिणे ।
देशे काले च पात्रे च तद्दानं सात्त्विकं स्मृतम् ॥ २० ॥

Text

Tekst

dātavyam iti yad dānaṁ
dīyate ’nupakāriṇe
deśe kāle ca pātre ca
tad dānaṁ sāttvikaṁ smṛtam

Synonyms

dātavyam — worth giving; iti — thus; yat — that which; dānam — charity; dīyate — is given; anupakāriṇe — irrespective of return; deśe — in a proper place; kāle — at a proper time; ca — also; pātre — to a suitable person; ca — and; tat — that; dānam — charity; sāttvikam — in the mode of goodness; smṛtam — is considered.

dātavyam — andmist väärt; iti — sel moel; yat — see, mida; dānam — annetust; dīyate — antakse; anupakāriṇe — ootamata vastutasu; deśe — sobivas paigas; kāle — sobival ajal; ca — samuti; pātre — sobivale isikule; ca — ja; tat — seda; dānam — annetust; sāttvikam — vooruse guṇas; smṛtam — peetakse.

Translation

Charity given out of duty, without expectation of return, at the proper time and place, and to a worthy person is considered to be in the mode of goodness.

Sellist annetust, mida antakse kohusetundest ja vastutasu ootamata, sobival ajal ja sobivas paigas ning seda väärivale inimesele, tuleb pidada vooruse guṇasse kuuluvaks.

Purport

In the Vedic literature, charity given to a person engaged in spiritual activities is recommended. There is no recommendation for giving charity indiscriminately. Spiritual perfection is always a consideration. Therefore charity is recommended to be given at a place of pilgrimage and at lunar or solar eclipses or at the end of the month or to a qualified brāhmaṇa or a Vaiṣṇava (devotee) or in temples. Such charities should be given without any consideration of return. Charity to the poor is sometimes given out of compassion, but if a poor man is not worth giving charity to, then there is no spiritual advancement. In other words, indiscriminate charity is not recommended in the Vedic literature.

Vedakirjanduses soovitatakse teha annetusi vaimsete tegevustega seotud inimestele, mitte aga valimatult, kellele tahes. Alati tuleb arvestada vaimset täiuslikkust. Seepärast soovitatakse teha annetusi palverännakute paigas ning kuu- või päikesevarjutuse ajal või kuu lõpul või kvalifitseeritud brāhmaṇale või vaiṣṇavale (s.o. pühendunule) või templites. Selliseid annetusi tuleb teha vastutasu ootamata. Vahel antakse kaastundest annetusi vaestele, ent kui vaene inimene pole annetusi väärt, ei aita selline annetus kaasa vaimsele arengule. Teisisõnu öeldes ei soovitata vedakirjanduses teha annetusi valimatult.