"'Yudhishthira said, "Which amongst these three persons, O grandsire,
should be regarded as the best for making gifts unto, viz., one who is a
thorough stranger, or one who is living with and who has been known to
the giver for a long time, or one who presents himself before the giver,
coming from a long distance?"
"'Bhishma said, "All these are equal. The eligibility of some consists in
their soliciting alms for performing sacrifices or for paying the
preceptor's fee or for maintaining their spouses and children. The
eligibility of some for receiving gifts, consists in their following the
vow of wandering over the earth, never soliciting anything but receiving
when given. We should also give unto one what one seeks.[268] We should,
however, make gifts without afflicting those that depend upon us. Even
this is what we have heard. By afflicting one's dependants, one afflicts
one's own self. The stranger,--one, that is, who has come for the first
time,--should be regarded as a proper object of gifts. He who is familiar
and well-known and has been living with the giver, should be regarded in
the same light. The learned know that he too who comes from a distant
place should be regarded in an equal light."
"'Yudhishthira said, "It is true that we should make gifts unto others
without afflicting anyone and without doing violence to the ordinances of
the scriptures. One should, however, correctly ascertain who the person
is that should be regarded as a proper object for making gifts. He should
be such that the gift itself, by being made over to him, may not
grieve."[269]
"'Bhishma said, "If the Ritwik, the Purohita, the preceptor, the Acharya,
the disciple, the relative (by marriage), and kinsmen, happen to be
possessed of learning and free from malice, then should they be deemed
worthy of respect and worship. Those persons that do not possess such
qualifications cannot be regarded as worthy of gifts or hospitality.
Hence, one should with deliberation examine persons with whom one comes
into contact. Absence of wrath, truthfulness of speech, abstention from
injury, sincerity, peacefulness of conduct, the absence of pride,
modesty, renunciation, self-restraint, and tranquillity or contentment of
soul, he in whom these occur by nature, and in whom there are no wicked
acts, should be regarded as a proper object. Such a person deserves
honours. Whether the person be one who is well-known and familiar, or one
who has come newly, whether he has not been seen before, if he happens to
possess these qualifications, he should be regarded as worthy of honours
and hospitality. He who denies the authority of the Vedas, or strives to
show that the scriptures should be disregarded, or approves of all
breaches of restraint in society,--simply brings about his own ruin (and
should not be regarded as worthy of gifts). That Brahmana who is vain of
his learning, who speaks ill of the Vedas or who is devoted to the
science of useless disputation, or who is desirous of gaining victory (in
disputations) in assemblies of good men by disproving the reasons that
exist for morality and religion and ascribing everything to chance, or
who indulges in censuring and reproaching others or who reproves
Brahmanas, or who is suspicious of all persons, or who is foolish and
bereft of judgment, or who is bitter of speech, should be known to be as
hateful as a dog. As a dog encounters others, barking the while and
seeking to bite, such a person is even so, for he spends his breath in
vain and seeks to destroy the authority of all the scriptures. Those
practices that support society, the duties of righteousness, and all
those acts which are productive of benefit to one's own self, should be
attended to. A person that lives, attending to these, grows in prosperity
for everlasting time. By paying off the debt one owes to the deities by
performing sacrifices, that to the Rishis by studying the Vedas, that to
the Pitris by procreating children, that to the Brahmanas by making
presents unto them and that to guests by feeding them, in due order, and
with purity of intention, and properly attending to the ordinances of the
scriptures, a householder does not fall away from righteousness."'"[270]