Sanskrit
दातव्यमिति यद्दानं दीयतेऽनुपकारिणे । देशे काले च पात्रे च तद्दानं सात्त्विकं स्मृतम् ॥
dātavyam iti yad dānaṃ dīyate'nupakāriṇe deśe kāle ca pātre ca tad dānaṃ sāttvikaṃ smṛtam
Translation
That alms given to one who does nothing in return, believing that a gift ought to be made in a fit place and time to a worthy person, that alms is accounted pure.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Gift-giving (dāna) is the fourth and final domain to receive the threefold treatment, and its sattvic form applies the same logic as sattvic sacrifice and austerity to generosity specifically: given as duty (dātavyam iti), to someone who can’t repay it (anupakāriṇe), at the right place, time, and to a worthy recipient. Stripping reciprocity out of the definition of “pure” giving is the chapter’s clearest statement yet that non-attachment to outcome, not the size of the gift, is what makes an act sattvic. Sāttvic giving has four marks: dātavyam iti (given because it should be), anupakāriṇe (to one who cannot return the favour), and the right deśa, kāla, pātra (place, time, recipient). The key one is anupakāriṇe — a gift with no possibility of reciprocity.
Study deeper
Word by word
- dātavyam iti yad dānaṃदातव्यं इति यद् दानं
- the gift given [with the thought] 'it ought to be given' (dātavyam + iti + yat + dānam)
- dīyate'nupakāriṇeदीयतेऽनुपकारिणे
- given to one who cannot repay (dīyate + anupakāriṇe)
- deśe kāle ca pātre caदेशे काले च पात्रे च
- in the [right] place and time, and to a [worthy] recipient (deśe + kāle + ca + pātre + ca)
- tad dānaṃ sāttvikaṃ smṛtamतद् दानं सात्त्विकं स्मृतं
- that gift is held to be sāttvic (tat + dānam + sāttvikam + smṛtam)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Notice the specific criterion for the recipient: not that they’re poor, or virtuous, or needy — anupakāriṇe, someone who cannot do anything in return. Sattvic giving is defined by breaking a potential transaction loop before it can even start, which is a more precise and more demanding test than generosity as usually practiced: most giving, even well-intentioned giving, still carries some faint expectation of goodwill returned, and this verse rules that out by definition.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- The clearest test of whether you're truly giving or quietly trading is whether you'd give the same thing to someone who has no way to ever pay you back, socially or otherwise — if your generosity changes based on who might reciprocate, it was closer to a trade than a gift.
Professional
- When mentoring a colleague, notice whether your effort changes based on whether they're in a position to return the favor later — genuine mentorship, like this verse's definition of sattvic giving, holds steady even toward someone who can never reciprocate it.
Family & Social
- The truest generosity toward family shows up with the relatives or friends who can never pay you back — if your warmth quietly scales with someone's ability to return the favor, that's a signal the giving has some trade built into it.
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