104 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 8, Ch. 20

of fighting; tanu-tyajah—and thus lay down their lives; na—not;
tathad—as; tirthe dyate—on the arrival of a saintly person who creates
holy places; sraddhaya—with faith and devotion; ye—those who;
dhana-tyajah—can give up their accumulated wealth.

TRANSLATION

O best of the brahmanas, many men have laid down their lives
on the battlefield, being unafraid of fighting, but rarely has one
gotten the chance to give his accumulated wealth faithfully to a
saintly person who creates holy places.

PURPORT

Many ksatriyas have laid down their lives on the battlefield for their
nations, but hardly a person can be found who has given up all his pro-
perty and his accumulated wealth in charity to a person worthy of the

gift. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (17.20):

datavyam iti yad danam
diyate ‘nupakarine

dese kale ca patre ca
tad danam sattvikam smrtam

“That gift which is given out of duty, at the proper time and place, to a
worthy person, and without expectation of return is considered to be
charity in the mode of goodness.” Thus charity given in the proper place
is called sattvika. And above this charity in goodness is transcendental
charity, in which everything is sacrificed for the sake of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. Vamanadeva, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, had come to Bali Maharaja for alms. How could one get such an
opportunity to give charity? Therefore, Bali Maharaja decided without
hesitation to give the Lord whatever He wanted. One may get various op-
portunities to lay down his life on the battlefield, but such an opportunity
as this is hardly ever obtained.

TEXT 10

wifaa: srefiaa aad
qefiericata gifs: |
