Mahabharata 13.37.2

13.37.2

bhīṣma uvāca |
kriyā bhavati keṣāṃcidupāṃśuvratamuttamam |
yo yo yāceta yatkiṃcitsarvaṃ dadyāma ityuta || 2 ||

"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. 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.'