Manava Dharmashastra 4.234

4.234

bhāvaśabdo'yaṃ cittadharme vartate | yādṛśena bhāvena prasannena cittena śraddhayā''dareṇa dadāti tādṛśenaiva labhate | athāśraddhayā'vajñayā kliṣṭaṃ paribhūya dadāti so'pi tathaiva prāpnoti | yadyadapi na dravyajātyabhiprāyam | kiṃttarhi phalaṃ ? etaducyate | tāṃ tāṃ prītiṃ tattaddravyasādhyāṃ prāpnoti | jātyabhiprāye hyāturāyāaiṣadhadāne auṣadha evaṃ labhyeta | taccāvyādhitasyānupayogīti so'pyākṣiptyeta | tasmāt yādṛśyāullāsādyasya prītistādṛśīṃ caiva prāpnoti | ataśca sarvadaivauṣadhadāna arogitvamuktaṃ bhavati | athavā idaṃ me syāditi yā phalakāmanā sa 'bhāvaḥ' | yatphalamabhisaṃdhāya yadyaddravyaṃ dadāti tattatprāpnoti | tenaiva bhāvena tayaivecchyā yadyevecchati taddeva labhata ityuktaṃ bhavati | sarvaphalatvaṃ sarvadravyāṇāṃ pradarśitaṃ bhavati |

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
The tern ‘bhāva,’ ‘spirit,’ denotes mental disposition. In whatever spirit—with a pleasant mind, proper faith and respect—one bestows a gift, in that same spirit he himself obtains it; if, on the other hand, he gives without faith, in a disrespectful manner and after having insulted the recipient,—then he himself also obtains it in the same manner.

The phrase, ‘yadyat,’ ‘whatever,’ does not refer to the kinds of things (given as gifts).—“What, then, is the use of the expression?”—The explanation is that the phrase means that ‘the man obtains the pleasures brought about by the substances concerned.’ If the objects themselves were meant, then, in the case of a man giving medicines to a sick person, he would obtain (as reward) that same medicine; and, since such a reward would be of no use to a healthy person, it would be thrown away. For this reason, the meaning must be that ‘the giver obtains the same kind of pleasure that he causes by his gift;’ so that the gift of medicines would bring sound health to the giver.

Or, the term ‘bhāva’, ‘spirit,’ may stand for desire, purpose, the idea ‘may this be mine;’ the sense of the passage in that case would be—‘the man obtains that same reward, with a view to obtaining which he bestows the gift,’—and that ‘in the same spirit;’ i.e., he obtains it at the same time at winch he happens to be in want of it. This implies that the gift of all things may bring to the giver all kinds of rewards.—(234)