Text 34]
Ideal Family Life
181
pātraṁ tv atra niruktaṁ vai kavibhiḥ pātra-vittamaiḥ harir evaika urvīśa yan-mayaṁ vai carācaram
pātram—the true person to whom charity must be given; tu—but; atra—in the world; niruktam—decided; vai—indeed; kavibhiḥ—by learned scholars; pātra-vittamaiḥ—who are expert in finding the actual person to whom charity must be given; hariḥ—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; eva—indeed; ekaḥ—only one; urvī-īśa—O King of the earth; yat-mayam—in whom everything is resting; vai—from whom everything is coming; cara-acaram—all that is moving or nonmoving within this universe.
TRANSLATION
O King of the earth, it has been decided by expert, learned scholars that only the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, in whom all that is moving or nonmoving within this universe is resting and from whom everything is coming, is the best person to whom everything must be given.
PURPORT
Whenever we perform some religious act in terms of  dharma ,  artha ,  kāma  and  mokṣa , we must perform it according to the time, place and person ( kāla ,  deśa ,  pātra ). Nārada Muni has already described the  deśa  (place) and  kāla  (time). The  kāla  has been described in verses twenty through twenty-four, beginning with the words  ayane viṣuve kuryād vyatīpāte dina-kṣaye . And the places for giving charity or performing ritualistic ceremonies have been described in verses thirty through thirty-three, beginning with  sarāṁsi puṣkarādīni kṣetrāṇy arhāśritāṇy uta . Now, to whom everything must be given is decided in this verse.  Harir evaika urvīśa yan-mayaṁ vai carācaram . The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the root of everything, and therefore He is the best  pātra , or person, to whom everything must be given. In  Bhagavad-gītā  (5.29) it is said:
bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram