17.20 दातव्यमिति यद्दानं दीयतेऽनुपकारिणे।देशे काले च पात्रे च तद्दानं सात्त्विकं स्मृतम्
dātavyamiti yaddānaṃ dīyate'nupakāriṇe | deśe kāle ca pātre ca taddānaṃ sāttvikaṃ smṛtam
Word meanings
dātavyam—worthy of charity;iti—thus;yat—which;dānam—charity;dīyate—is given;anupakāriṇe—to one who cannot give in return;deśhe—in the proper place;kāle—at the proper time;cha—and;pātre—to a worthy person;cha—and;tat—that;dānam—charity;sāttvikam—in the mode of goodness;smṛitam—is stated to be
Verse audio
Divine Verses of the Bhagavad Gita • Swami Dayananda Saraswati
Translators5/5
My Personal Gita
A gift that is given with the thought that 'one must give' and is given in an appropriate place and at the right time to a worthy person who is unable to repay—that gift is considered to be of the Sattva.
The gift which is given without thought of recompense, in the belief that it ought to be made, in a fit place, at an opportune time and to a deserving person - such a gift is Pure.
Gifts given with the feeling, that it is one's own duty to give to one who makes no return, at the proper place and time to the deserving person - that is said to be Sattvika.
That gift is referred to as born of sattva which gift is given with the idea that it ought to be given, to one who will not serve in return, and at the (proper) place, (proper) time and to a (proper) person.
That gift which is given to one who does nothing in return, knowing it to be a duty to give in a fit place and time to a worthy person, that gift is held to be Sattwic.