Vaat 6.197
Swamini Vato Prakaran 6 Vaat 197 · 6 · Verse 197
Sanskrit Original
Keṭlek ṭhekāṇe dharma kare chhe temā karoḍ maṇ dāṇā vāvare chhe. Paṇ ek adhsher barobar na āve, ne ek adhsher paṇ evu chhe. Jem ṛuṣhie vanmā sāthavānī chār patrāvaḷī potāne sāru pūrī hatī, paṇ jo olyā ṛuṣhi māgavā āvyā tene dīdhī to te ṭāṇe chāre khāī gayā ne jyāre hāth dhoyā tyāre temā noḷiyo āḷoṭyo, tyā sonāno thaī gayo ne Pānḍave yagna karyo temā na thayo. Kā je, enu dravya evu hatu. E dhan te Marut Rājānu lūṭīne lāvyā hatā ne olyo thoḍo ja sāthavo hato paṇ mahenat karīne bheḷo karel ane vaḷī shraddhā sotu dīdhu, tem āgaḷ pātra paṇ evu hatu. Māṭe pātra joīne dān karavu.
In some places where works of dharma are performed, ten million kilos of grains are used. But merits gained are not even equal to 250g. And even the 250g are like that. Just as the rishi in the forest had four servings of porridge for himself, but when the other rishi came to ask for food he gave them. At that time, another rishi ate all four servings, and when he washed his hands, the mongoose began to roll over (in the spilt grains) and it turned golden. And that did not happen even when the Pandavs had performed their big sacrifice. Since, their wealth was not undefiled,1 as they had acquired that money by looting King Marut. And that rishi’s little porridge had been collected with effort and was given with faith. Also the recipient was a holy person. Therefore, look at the recipient and then donate. Footnotes: 1. 1. During the Mahabharat era, Mudgal rishi was a pure, devout rishi who possessed the shilonchh vrutti – the ability to pick up individual grains from the storage area in the farm and eat them. He fasted for six months without eating anything. When the crops ripened, he would collect grains from the fields and feed any guests. Once, he fed Durvasa. A mongoose rolled in the grains spilt by Durvasa while eating. Since they had been affectionately served by Mudgal Rishi, the mongoose turned half golden. Then, many years later, the Pandavs performed a Rajsuya Yagna and fed 21,000 Brahmins. This mongoose rolled in the grains spilt by these Brahmins, but its remaining half did not become golden. So, the mongoose commented, “Your Rajsuya Yagna does not even carry the merit equal to Mudgal rishi’s few grams of food.” Arjun narrated this to Shri Krishna. He said, “A Chāndāl devotee of mine is meditating on me and is offering worship. He has remained hungry.” So, the Pandavs found him and sitting him at a distance, fed him. But still the conch of victory (success) did not sound. Shri Krishna said, “Feed him with the same feelings you feed me.” When this was done, the conch sounded and by rolling in his spilt grains, the other half of the mongoose turned golden. [From footnote 1, Vat 9.2 - English version; Vat 5-313 - Gujarati version]