Manava Dharmashastra 3.84

3.84

atithilakṣaṇaṃ vakṣyati | tamabhyāgataṃ santaṃ pūrvamāśayet bhojayet, sarvabhoktṛbhyo gṛhasannihitebhyaḥ | bhikṣāṃ bhikṣave ca yācamānāya dadyāt | bhikṣāśabdena svalpaparimāṇamannadānamucyate | uktaṃ hi "prasṛtirbhikṣā" | antaḥpuraprasiddhaṃ caitat | brahmacāriṇe vidhivat | anyasmā api pākhaṇḍādirūpāya bhikṣave na vidhivaddātavyā | brahmacāriṇe tu vidhivatsvastivācanapūrvaṃ bhikṣādānamityeṣa vidhiḥ | athavā bhikṣuḥ parivrāṭ, brahmacārī prathamāśramī | caśabdaścāsthāne vṛttānurodhāt | brahmacāriṇe ceti paṭhitavyam | evaṃ tu vānaprasthāya na dānaṃ syāt | tasmādbhikṣate iti 'bhikṣuḥ', tasyaiva viśeṣaṇaṃ brahmacārigrahaṇam | tena tribhyo'pyāśramibhyo bhikṣādānaṃ niyamato'nujñātaṃ bhavati | pākhaṇḍādīnāṃ tu patitādivat | sarvagrahaṇena bhikṣopakāro yathāśakti vihita eva |

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
The right definition of the ‘guest’ shall he given later on (in 102); when such a guest has arrived, he shall feed him first,—i.e., before all others that may be near the house and may be going to eat.

Alms to one who is a mendicant’—i.e., he should give it to a person that asks for it. The term ‘alms’ stands for the gift of a small quantity of food; it has been said that ‘it is a handful that constitutes alms;’ and this is well known among housewives.

‘In the proper form,’ to ‘a Brahmacārin’—to others even to a beggar that may be a disguised heretic, alms may be given,—but not in the proper form; but to the Brahmacārin it should be given ‘in the proper form;’ i.e., the giving is to be preceded by the syllable ‘svasti’ by the recipient; this is the ‘form’ referred to.

Or, the term ‘bhikṣu,’ ‘mendicant,’ in the text may be taken in the sense of the Parivrāṭ, the Renunciate,—and the term ‘brahmacārī’ in that of one who is still in the first stage of Studentship. The particle ‘ca’ occurs in the wrong place on account of exigencies of metre; it should occur after ‘brahmacārine.’

But under this explanation, no alms would ever be given to the Recluse (the person in the third stage.) Hence the right view appears to be to take the term ‘bhikṣu’ (mendicant) in the sense of ‘one who begs,’ and the term ‘brahmacārin’ (chaste) as a qualification of the former. And in this way the giving of alms to persons in all the three stages becomes regularly sanctioned. As for heretics, they are to be treated like outcasts (vide 92),—and the mention of ‘all’ (in 93) has already enjoined the helping in the form of giving food, according to one’s means, to all living beings.—(94)