Skandapurana 1.4.5

Table of Contents

Sūta said: / Then that son of Pāṇḍu, having approached Nārada who was surrounded by brahmins and worshipped by the gods, paid homage to them all.

Then Nārada said to him: “O Dhanañjaya, conqueror of enemies, / your mind is devoted to righteousness, to the gods, and to the brahmins.

I hope that while performing this great pilgrimage of twelve years, O hero, / you do not feel distress or anger in this way.

Even the minds of sages, O son of Pāṇḍu, on pilgrimages to sacred fords, / are distressed and agitated due to obstacles to spiritual welfare.

I hope you are not touched by this fault, O son of Pāṇḍu. / In this regard, we have indeed heard this verse sung by Aṅgiras:

‘He whose hands, feet, and mind are well restrained, / and all of whose actions are free from agitation, obtains the fruit of a sacred ford.’

Therefore, this is to be held in your heart; or what do you think, dear friend? / You whose brother is Yudhiṣṭhira, and whose companion is Keśava!

Moreover, it is appropriate that brahmins instruct men; / for we have been established as the teachers of righteousness by that Viṣṇu.

And here we have heard a verse sung by Viṣṇu concerning brahmins:

‘Plunging into hearing the spotless, nectar-like fame of him who is Vaikuṇṭha instantly purifies the world down to an outcaste. / Such am I, whose fame concerning excellent sacred fords has been attained through you; I would cut off even my own arm if it acts contrary to them.’

And we tell you pleasing news, O son of Pṛthā, concerning those whose welfare you desire: / they are all well—both the Yādavas and the Pāṇḍavas.

Just now King Vīravarmā, the tormentor of the Kurus, / has been slain by Bhīmasena by order of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.

For he was invincible to kings, just as the mighty Bali was in former times; / Dhṛtarāṣṭra conquered him, removing a thorn with a thorn.

Having heard these and other words spoken by Nārada, Phālguna, / exceedingly delighted, said: “Whence could ill fortune come to them,

who always follow the counsel of brahmins and who worship brahmins? / And I, properly self-restrained, wandering among sacred fords according to my ability,

have come to this sacred ford, and there is great joy in my heart. / Seeing sacred fords is auspicious, but bathing in them is still greater;

and hearing the māhātmya is even greater than that—so the sage Aurva said. / Therefore, O sage, I wish to hear the merits of this sacred ford.

This is especially worthy of being heard since it has been accepted by you, O sage. / For wandering through the three worlds, you know all the essential truth.

Therefore, I consider this, which has been embraced by you, superior to all sacred fords.”

Nārada said: / “It is proper for you, O son of Pṛthā, that as a virtuous man you ask about virtues; / virtues born of righteousness are suitable to be heard only by the virtuous. / The life of the good passes day by day in hearing and proclaiming righteousness,

just as the life of sinners passes day by day in idle and wicked chatter. / Therefore I shall proclaim the many virtues of this sacred ford,

so that, having heard, you may know it was rightly accepted by me. / Formerly, wandering through the three worlds following Kapila, O son of Pṛthā,

I went to the world of Brahmā, and there I saw the Grandfather. / He was surrounded by royal seers and divine seers, both embodied and formless.

Spotless Brahmā shone like the moon, the king of stars, amid the constellations. / Having bowed to him, after being welcomed by him with his glance,

I sat down delighted, together with Kapila. / In the meantime, messengers arrived there.

For they are constantly sent forth by Brahmā to observe the world. / Then to those who had bowed and were seated, the Grandfather,

as though showering them with his nectar-like gaze, said: / ‘Where and where have you wandered? What has been seen or heard?

Tell of something wondrous, by hearing which purity is attained.’ / When spoken to in this way by the Lord, the one who was considered the foremost among them,

named Suśravas, bowed to Brahmā and said this: / ‘An address before the Lord is like a lamp before the sun;

nevertheless, it must be spoken by me, impelled by you for the sake of others. / A sage named Kātyāyana, having repeatedly heard of many duties,

stood on a single big toe for a hundred years out of a desire to know the essence. / Then a divine voice spoke to him: “Listen, Kātyāyana!

On the holy bank of the Sarasvatī, ask the sage Sārasvata. / He, knower of righteousness, will declare to you the essence to be attained through righteousness.”

Having heard this, the best of sages approached that foremost among sages; / bowing with his head to the earth, he asked this which was in his heart:

“Some praise truth; others praise austerity and purity; / some praise Sāṃkhya; others declare Yoga [to be the best].

Some praise forgiveness, and likewise utmost uprightness; / some praise silence, while others say sacred learning is supreme.

Some praise correct knowledge, others supreme dispassion; / and likewise some consider rituals such as the Agniṣṭoma supreme.

Some consider self-knowledge supreme, regarding a clod of earth, a stone, and gold as equal. / In this way, when the world is divided concerning what ought and ought not to be done, people

fall into delusion, arguing about what is the highest good. / What, among these, is the supreme duty to be performed by great souls?

You ought to tell me, O knower of righteousness, that which accomplishes all aims.”

Sārasvata said: / “Listen to that essence which the Sarasvatī told me, and which I shall tell you: / The entire world is like a shadow, subject to origination and destruction;

it is as transient as the sweet flickering glance of a courtesan. / Reflecting properly with the intellect on wealth, life, youth, and pleasures as unsteady as the moon reflected in water, / one should resort to devotion to Sthāṇu and to giving.

‘A man who gives is incapable of committing sin’—so says scripture. / ‘One devoted to Sthāṇu does not incur birth and death’—so likewise says scripture.

And listen to the two verses that were sung in former times by Sāvarṇi: / ‘Lord Dharma is indeed the Bull, and the bull is his mount.

That Mahādeva is worshipped; that is called the highest dharma. / In the whirlpool of suffering, terrible with darkness, and in the waters of dharma and adharma,

In the mire of anger, the crocodile of arrogance, crowded with the bubbles of greed, / In the deep underworld of conceit, adorned with creatures for vehicles,

Hara alone rescues the drowning [man] from the ocean of worldly existence. / Generosity, good conduct, observance, speech, fame, dharma, and likewise lifespan—

One should extract the essence, helping others, from the essenceless body. / Attachment to dharma, contemplation on sacred tradition, supreme addiction to giving,

Dispassion regarding sensory objects—[thus] the fruit of birth is attained. / Having obtained unsteady human birth in this land of Bhārata,

If one does not work for the welfare of oneself, by that one deceives oneself for a long time. / Human birth is extremely difficult to attain for all gods and demons.

Having obtained it, one should act in such a way that one does not go to hell. / Human birth is the root of everything, and the accomplisher of all aims.

If you have no effort toward gain, protect the root with diligence. / With the great price of merit, you have bought the boat of the body,

To go to the other shore of the ocean of sorrow; cross over while it does not break! / A state of the body free from illness is indeed hard to obtain; then,

He who does not depart from worldly existence is a destroyer of himself, the lowest of men. / Here ascetics perform austerity, and here sacrificers offer oblations; / And here gifts are given with respect for the sake of the next world.

Kātyāyana said: / O Lord, what is harder to perform—giving or austerity? / Or what yields great fruit after death? O Sārasvata, tell me that!

Sārasvata said: / There is nothing on earth more difficult to perform than giving. / O sage, this is witnessed before one's eyes with the world as a witness.

Having abandoned their dear lives for the sake of wealth, into great danger / They enter the ocean, the forest, and the mountain out of extreme greed.

Others take up service, which is remembered as 'a dog's livelihood'; / And others still [take up] agriculture, full of violence and involving much misery.

Of that [wealth] acquired with difficulty in this world, dearer even than life, / Obtained through hundreds of labors, renunciation is exceedingly difficult.

What he gives away and what he eats, that alone is the wealth of the wealthy man; / When he is dead, others play with both his wives and his wealth.

Day after day I consider the beggar like a spiritual master, / Who day by day polishes [the mind] like a mirror.

For what is being given away does not diminish; indeed, it increases all the more. / A well being drawn from becomes pure and full of water.

For the sake of happiness in a single birth, [a fool] would waste thousands [of lives]; / The wise man amasses in a single birth [merit] for thousands of births.

The fool indeed does not give away wealth out of fear of poverty in this world; / But the wise man distributes wealth out of fear of it in the other world.

What will embodied beings, who have a perishable refuge, do with wealth? / That body for the sake of which they desire wealth is impermanent.

The two syllables, 'There is not, there is not,' which were repeated formerly— / That very thing has presented itself in reverse: 'Give, give!'

And all those people who wake one up [saying] miserably: 'Give!' [are saying]: / 'This is the state of nongiving; may you not also become like this!'

The requester says 'Give to me' solely for the benefit of the giver, / Because the giver ascends above, while the recipient stays below.

The poor, the diseased, the foolish, and those who are always servants of others, / Are born from not having given gifts, receptacles of sorrow alone.

A rich man who is not a giver, or a poor man who does not practice austerity— / Both should be cast into the water having bound a great stone around the neck.

A hero is born among hundreds, and a scholar among thousands; / An orator among hundreds of thousands; a giver may or may not be born.

By cows, brahmins, the Vedas, virtuous women, truthful people, / Those free from greed, and generous people—by these seven the earth is upheld.

Śibi, king of Uśīnara, having offered his limbs and his dear legitimate son / For the sake of a brahmin, went from here to the surface of heaven.

Pratardana, the king of Kāśi, having given his own two eyes / To a brahmin, enjoys matchless fame both in this world and in the next.

Nimi the king of Videha gave his kingdom, and the son of Jamadagni the earth / To brahmins; and Gaya gave the earth together with its cities.

When the rain-cloud did not shower, Vasiṣṭha, who gives refuge to all beings, / Sustained the subjects like Prajāpati [sustains] his creatures.

And Brahmadatta, the king of the Pāñcālas, best among the wise, / Having given the Śaṅkha treasure to eminent brahmins, attained heaven.

And the royal seer Sahasrajit of great renown, having surrendered / His dear life for the sake of a brahmin, went to the highest worlds.

These and many others, through giving to Sthāṇu with devotion, / Have gone permanently to the world of Rudra, calmed in soul, with senses conquered.

Their fame is established as long as the earth shall endure; / Reflecting thus, desirous of the essence, be devoted to giving to Sthāṇu!

He too, abandoning delusion, became likewise, [namely] Kātyāyana.

Nārada said: / Having heard the story narrated thus by Suśravas, the Lotus-born [Brahmā], / Filled with tears of joy, praised [him] again and again exceedingly:

Well spoken by you, dear child! It is thus and not otherwise. / Sārasvata spoke the truth, and the sacred tradition is also true in this way:

'Giving is the armor of sacrifices; in the world all creatures live off the giver of the sacrificial fee; by giving they drive away enemies; through giving, foes become friends; in giving everything is established; therefore they say giving is supreme.'

In the terrible ocean of worldly existence, turbulent with the waves of dharma and adharma, / One should resort there to giving, and that is fashioned like a boat.

Thinking thus, brahmins were settled at Puṣkara by me; / Brahmins were created in the middle country, between the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā.

The best knowers of the Veda were settled by Śrī and Hari, and by holy Gaurī; / The Nāgaras were settled by Rudra, and those born in Śaktipura by Pārvatī.

And likewise in Śrīmāla by Lakṣmī, and thus by the foremost gods, / various land-grants were bestowed with the desire to deliver the world. // 2.87

Indeed, O foremost among gods, there is no desire whatsoever for the fruit of gift-giving; / for giving gifts is proclaimed by us for the protection of the virtuous. // 2.88

And the brahmins, once established in their settlements, by teachings of diverse duties, / deliver the three castes; therefore the twice-born are most worthy of worship. // 2.89

Giving is fourfold: a simple gift, formal dedication, an intentional vow, / and a promised gift—thus diverse, it is proclaimed in order. // 2.90

The donation of stepwells, wells, ponds, groves, learning, temples of the gods, / monasteries, water-booths, houses, and fields is called formal dedication. // 2.91

And whichever man, living off these, should practice merit, / the twice-born who dedicated them obtains a sixth share as long as it lasts. // 2.92

Therefore, above all these, establishing brahmins is supreme, / as is establishing deities, since dharma is rooted in that alone. // 2.93

As long as a temple of a deity lasts, and as long as a brahmin's house lasts, / for that long a share of merit attends upon the donor's ancestors. // 2.94

This is indeed a small trade, yet yielding great fruit; / and in restoring what is dilapidated, this very [merit] is proclaimed to be doubled. // 2.95

Therefore I too say this, O best of the gods: / there is nothing equal to a gift; truly has the sage belonging to Sarasvatī sung." // 2.96

Nārada said: / Hearing what was spoken by the sage belonging to Sarasvatī and thus uttered by the lotus-born [Brahmā], / the gods and I rejoiced, exceedingly astonished, saying, "Well done! Well done!" // 2.97

Then, at the end of the assembly's dispersal, on the delightful summit of Meru, / sitting down upon a rock surface, I reflected on this: // 2.98

"Brahmā spoke the truth; but for what purpose does he live / who has not fulfilled even one such deed, by which fulfillment is attained? // 2.99

How, clearly, shall I then perform the merit of giving? / Having only a loincloth and a staff as my wealth, I do not possess even a little wealth. // 2.100

What one gives to the unworthy, and does not give likewise to the worthy— / because of discerning the worthy and unworthy, the duty of giving is indeed difficult. // 2.101

In the right place, time, and to a worthy recipient, with a pure mind, / whoever gives what is earned righteously, he enjoys that in his youth. // 2.102

Enveloped in darkness, however, whoever gives out of anger, / he enjoys the fruit of that gift while in the womb; there is no doubt about this. // 2.103

In childhood too he enjoys what was given out of ostentation, / or wealth that was given unlawfully for the sake of material gain. // 2.104

In old age indeed a man enjoys [it], or he will not do so [at all]; / therefore, in the right place, at the right time, and to an excellent recipient according to the rule, / a man should bestow what is acquired auspiciously, with faith and free from deceit. // 2.105

Then, because of being destitute, how indeed will this come to be? / Truly did the pure ancient sages speak the saying: // 2.106

'For the penniless, neither this world exists nor the next in any way; / people look upon a poor man standing nearby as one accursed.' // 2.107

Poverty is a sin in this world; who is capable of praising it? / A fallen man is lamented by all, and a destitute man is also lamented. // 2.108

He whose horses are lean, whose wealth is lean, whose servants are lean, and whose guests are lean— / he is indeed called 'lean'; one lean in body is not lean. // 2.109

A man possessed of wealth, even if of low birth, is most honored in the world; / even one born in a lineage equal to the moon, if devoid of wealth, is despised. // 2.110

Those advanced in knowledge, those advanced in austerity, and those advanced in learning who are widely heard— / they all stand at the door of the one rich in wealth like servants. // 2.111

Even if this wealth is beyond us in the three worlds, / nevertheless, what is begged from another would bear fruit for that [giver] alone. // 2.112

Or rather, I shall think all this over very clearly first; / but first I shall look around for some suitable place." // 2.113

Having thought thus in many ways, wandering about through many / regions, villages, towns, and hermitages, I did not find a beneficial place where I might settle the brahmins. // 2.114

Thus ends the second chapter, entitled "Description of the Praise of Giving", in the dialogue between Nārada and Arjuna, in the Kaumārikākhaṇḍa of the first [section], the Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, in the Mahāpurāṇa of Skanda consisting of eighty-one thousand verses. // 2

Nārada said: / "Then I reflected: 'How can this place / become subject to my control, since this earth is always under the dominion of kings? // 4.1

If I, going to a righteous king, beg for the earth, / when solicited, he would surely bestow it upon me, but no other. // 4.2

For thus have the sages spoken of wealth as threefold: the best, / white; intermediate, speckled; and the lowest is called black. // 4.3

Acquired through the Veda, from a pupil, and through a daughter—this is white; / likewise, that obtained by usury, trade, agriculture, and begging. // 4.4

is called speckled by the virtuous; and what is acquired through gambling, theft, violence, / or deceit is proclaimed as black. // 4.5

Whoever performs dharma with white wealth, endowed with faith, / having found a sacred ford and a worthy recipient, enjoys it in godhood. // 4.6

And if with a passionate disposition and speckled wealth / one should bestow a gift upon petitioners, one enjoys it in human state. // 4.7

Enveloped in darkness, however, whatever man gives with black wealth, / having died, that lowest of men enjoys that fruit in an animal state. // 4.8

Then wealth obtained by begging would clearly be passionate for me. / Or, in the character of a brahmin, I might ask a king for an acceptance of a gift. // 4.9

Yet even that, alas, is considered by me as exceedingly difficult for that reason; / this accepting of gifts is dreadful, having the taste of honey, yet like poison. // 4.10

For affliction enters the twice-born who is joined with acceptance of gifts; / therefore, I have turned away from this sin of acceptance of gifts. // 4.11

Then, by some means or other, by one of the two, / let us make a place subject to our own control'—this I contemplated again and again. // 4.12

Just as a man with a bad wife finds no end to his anxiety, / exactly so, reflecting upon it, I did not find the slightest end to my anxiety." // 4.13

In the meantime, O Pārtha, many sages arrived there
to bathe at the holy confluence of the Mahī and the ocean.

I asked them all: "From where have you come?"
Having bowed down, they then said to me: "O sage, in the region of Saurāṣṭra,

there is a ruler named Dharmavarmā, the king of this country.
Seeking to understand the true nature of giving, he practiced austerity for many years.

Then an incorporeal voice in the sky said to him: 'Hear one verse, O king:
"With two motives, six foundations, six limbs, and two fruits;

having four forms, of three kinds, with three ruins is giving said to be."'
Having spoken this single verse, the voice in the sky fell silent.

It did not reveal the meaning of the verse, though being questioned, O Nārada.
Thereupon King Dharmavarmā made a proclamation by beat of drum:

'Whoever provides a complete and correct explanation of this verse
obtained by me through austerity, to him I will give this:

seven hundred thousand cows, and just as much gold;
I shall grant seven villages to whoever explains the verse.'

Having heard this great proclamation of the king announced by drum,
millions of brahmins from many lands arrived, O sage.

Yet, because of its difficult construction, that verse could not be explained
by those foremost brahmins at all, just as molasses [cannot be described] by mutes, O sage.

We too went there out of desire for wealth, O Nārada;
but bowing before the verse due to its incomprehensibility, we have come here.

'This verse is impossible to explain, and wealth is not to be obtained by us;
how shall I go on a pilgrimage?' Thinking thus, we have arrived here."

Having heard those words of those great-souled men, O Phālguna,
I was exceedingly overjoyed, and sending them off, I reflected:

"Ah, a means has been found for me to obtain a dwelling place, without doubt!
By explaining the verse to the king, I shall obtain a place and wealth as well.

And thus, being the price of learning, it would not be a begged gift.
Truly did the ancient seer Vāsudeva, the teacher of the world, speak:

'Whoever has faith in righteousness, that [desire] is never unfulfilled;
whoever has faith in sin, even that is not left unfulfilled.'

Reflecting thus, the wise act according to their inclination.
This word of the Lord is true, seeing that for me, though difficult to obtain,

this desire of mine has clearly sprouted and borne fruit.
And I understand this hard-to-comprehend verse very clearly;

for it was indeed declared to me long ago by the formless ancestors."
Filled with joy, O Pārtha, pondering this again and again,

I bowed to the sacred ford of the confluence of the Mahī and the ocean and set forth.
Then, in the form of an old brahmin, I went to the king.

I said this: "Hear the explanation of the verse, O king!
And prepare the gift that was proclaimed by you with drums."

When this was said, the king replied: "Indeed, millions spoke thus,
foremost brahmins, but could not state its meaning.

What are the two motives, what are the six foundations declared to be,
what are the six limbs, and what are remembered as the two fruits?

What are the four forms, what is that threefold nature, O twice-born one,
and what are declared to be the three ruins of giving? Tell this clearly.

If you answer these seven clear questions, O brahmin,
then seven hundred thousand cows, and just as much gold,

and seven villages I will give; if not, you shall return to your own home."
Having listened to this speech, O Pārtha, [spoken] to the king, the lord of Saurāṣṭra,

to Dharmavarmā, I replied: "So be it! Listen with attention!
I shall declare the clear explanation of the verse; hear first the two motives of giving.

Whether small or great, giving brings about prosperity;
faith and capacity indeed cause gifts to increase and become imperishable.

On the subject of faith, there are these verses:
Not through many bodily mortifications, nor through heaps of wealth,

is subtle righteousness attained; faith is righteousness, [faith is] wonderful austerity;
faith is heaven, and [faith is] liberation; faith is this entire world.

Even if one were to give all one's possessions and one's life without faith,
one would not obtain any fruit; therefore, one should be full of faith.

Righteousness is accomplished through faith, not through great heaps of wealth;
for sages possessing nothing, endowed with faith, have gone to heaven.

The faith of embodied beings is threefold, born of their inherent nature:
sāttvika, rājasa, and tāmasa; hear of it.

Sāttvika people worship the gods; rājasa people, the yakṣas and rākṣasas;
and tāmasa people worship spirits, bhūtas, and piśācas.

Therefore, whatever is given to a worthy recipient by a faithful person, earned by just means—
with that, even if very small, Lord Rudra is pleased.

And on the subject of capacity, there are these verses:
What remains beyond the food and clothing of one's family is to be given;
otherwise, a giver's righteousness becomes sweet at first like honey, but poison in the end.

He who gives to outsiders while capable, while his own kin live in misery,
is like one who drinks poison disguised as honey—a mere semblance of righteousness.

Whatever rite for the hereafter one performs by distressing one's dependents,
that results in unhappiness both while he is alive and when he is dead.

Common property, what is borrowed, a bailment, a pledge, a wife, a surety,
a secondary deposit, a deposit, and one's entire property when there is lineage—

these nine things are not to be given by the wise even in times of distress;
the man of foolish mind who gives [them] must perform expiation.

Thus the two motives have been declared to you, O king; hear now further:
I shall explain the six foundations; listen to them also.

Righteousness, wealth, desire, shame, joy, and fear:
these are declared to be the six foundations of giving.

That which is given constantly to worthy recipients without expecting any purpose,
solely with the thought of righteousness, is called the gift of righteousness.

If one allures a wealthy man through greed for wealth and takes his wealth, / they call that gift based on profit (arthadāna). Hear now of the gift based on desire (kāmadāna):

That which is given out of self-interest, through association, / to the unworthy, with passion—that is called a gift based on desire.

When one gives to petitioners having promised in an assembly out of shame, / and a gift is thus rendered, it is known as a gift based on shame (vrīḍādāna).

That which is given joyfully, having seen or heard pleasing things, / has been declared by thinkers on dharma to be a gift based on joy (harṣadāna).

That which is given to non-benefactors to counter / abuse, injury, or violence—that is called a gift based on fear (bhayadāna).

The six grounds have been spoken; now hear also of the six limbs: / the donor, the recipient, purity, the gift itself endowed with righteousness,

and the place and time—these they know as the six limbs of gifts. / A donor is praised on account of six qualities: being free from disease, righteous, willing to give, free from vices, pure,

and having an unblameworthy livelihood. / One who is crooked, without faith, uncontrolled in mind, insolent, timid,

untrue to his word, and indolent—such a donor is base, characterized by darkness (tamas). / Pure in three ways (descent, learning, conduct), of modest livelihood, compassionate, with all senses intact,

freed from defects of birth—such a brahmin is called a worthy recipient (pātra). / Delight through pleasantness of countenance always upon seeing petitioners, / hospitality, and freedom from envy—that is remembered as purity.

Wealth acquired by one's own effort, causing no harm to others and without distress, / whether small or abundant, is designated as the worthy gift.

That gift which is given aiming at someone according to dharma / is considered 'endowed with righteousness'; where there is a void, the fruit is considered void.

Moreover, when an article is difficult to obtain lawfully in a [particular] place or time, / that place and time become worthy of giving and are the best, not otherwise.

Thus the six limbs have been spoken. Hear next of the two fruitions: / They speak of two fruitions born of gifts: in the next world and in this one.

Whatever is given to the virtuous waits for one in the next world; / whatever is given to the unvirtuous, that gift is enjoyed here [in this world].

Two fruitions have thus been indicated. Hear of the four types: / in order, they speak of the constant (dhruva), the trika, the desired (kāmya), and the occasional (naimittika).

This Vedic path of gifts is described in four ways by the twice-born. / The constant (dhruva) brings the fruit of all desires, such as water-sheds, gardens, and ponds.

They speak of that which is given day after day as the trika. / That which is given for the sake of offspring, victory, sovereignty, women, and children,

and the gift which rests upon a specific wish, is designated as the desired (kāmya). / Dependent on time, dependent on a rite, and dependent on virtues—in the legal tradition,

the occasional (naimittika) is declared to be threefold, always free from oblations (homa). / Thus the types have been spoken to you. The threefold classification is now stated:

Eight are superior, four are intermediate by rule, / and the rest are inferior: thus they know this threefold classification.

A house, a temple, knowledge, land, a cow, a well, life-saving protection, and gold: / these are superior gifts, owing to the donation of superior articles.

Food, a grove, garments, and a conveyance such as a horse: / these are intermediate gifts, owing to the donation of intermediate articles.

Shoes, an umbrella, utensils, curds, honey, and seats,

lamps, firewood, stones, and the like, and finally things lasting for many years: / thus they speak of the inferior gifts. Hear of the three destroyers of gifts:

That which, after giving, one regrets, is considered demonic (āsura) and useless. / That which one gives without faith is monstrous (rākṣasa) and entirely in vain.

And that which one gives after reviling, O dear one, or having given, one reviles the twice-born— / that is ghostly (paiśāca), a futile gift. These are the three destroyers of gifts.

Thus the excellent greatness of gifts, composed of seven elements, / has been recited to you according to my ability, O King; tell me whether it is good or not good.