Jaina Path of Ahimsa

Author(s): Vilas Sangve
Publisher: Bhagwan Mahavir Research Centre

Page 75

The Jaina Path Of Ahimsā
3. Tāmasa Dāna, i.e., vicious gift, is the gift offered through the
agency of slaves or servants without considering whether the recipient is good or worthy or unworthy and without showing
marks of respect.
Of these three types of Dānas, the Sāttivika Dāna is regarded as the Uttama Dâna, .e., the best gift, the Rājasa Dana as the Madhyama Dāna, i.e., the moderate or the secondary gift and the Tāmsa Dāna as the Jaghanya Dāna, i.e., the worst or the detestable gift.
Again, for the sake of giving Dana it is not required that the Dāna should necessarily be of a large quantity. On the contrary, the householders are advised to extend even small gifts but they should take care that these small gifts are given to the deserving persons. Such a kind of small gift is praised in the standard sacred Jain work "Ratnakaranda Srāvakāchāra” in the following words :
क्षितिगतमिव वटबीजं पात्रगतं दानमल्पमपि काले। फलति च्छायाविभवं बहफलमिष्टं शरीरभृताम् ।।116
that is, “Even a small Dāna (gift) given to a pātra (proper or suitable donee), bears much desirable fruit for souls in the fullness of time, just as the (tiny) seed of the (Indian) fig tree, sown in (good) soil, produces (a tree, casting) magnificent shade”.
Thus, the Jain scriptures not only encourage the householders to give gifts to persons but also invariably stress that the conditions laid down and considered proper for the Donor (i.e., giver), the Dāna (i.e., gist) and the Donee (i.e., recipient) should always be followed because these three things by means of mutual influencing definitely increase the sanctity of the entire process. In this connection the celebrated Jaina author Achārya Jinasena in his well-known work "Ādi-purāna" has shown that in nine ways a gift becomes an ideal one in the following terms:
दातुर्विशुद्धता देयं पात्रं च प्रपुनाति सा। The day arar gaita 474TE: 11 20/136 पात्रस्य शुद्धिर्दातारं देयं चैव पुनात्यत: ।
79261ELS AGEIT 274.631647 11 20/137 that is, “The purity of the Donor gives sanctity to both the Gift and the Donee, similarly the purity of the Gift makes both the Donor and the Donec sacred; and on the same lines, the purity of the Donee