SB 11.6.37-38 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.6.37-38

वयं च तस्मिन्नाप्लुत्य तर्पयित्वा पितृन् सुरान् । भोजयित्वोषिजो विप्रान् नानागुणवतान्धसा ॥ ३७ ॥ तेषु दानानि पात्रेषु श्रद्धयोप्‍त्‍वा महान्ति वै । वृजिनानि तरिष्यामो दानैर्नौभिरिवार्णवम् ॥ ३८ ॥

vayaṁ ca tasminn āplutya

[vayam cha tasminn aaplutya]

tarpayitvā pitṝn surān

[tarpayitvaa pitreen suraan]

bhojayitvoṣijo viprān

[bhojayitvoshijo vipraan]

nānā-guṇavatāndhasā

[naanaa-gunavataandhasaa]

teṣu dānāni pātreṣu

[teshu daanaani paatreshu]

śraddhayoptvā mahānti vai

[shraddhayoptvaa mahaanti vai]

vṛjināni tariṣyāmo

[vrijinaani tarishyaamo]

dānair naubhir ivārṇavam

[daanair naubhir ivaarnavam]

Word-for-word

vayam — we ca — also tasmin — at that place āplutya — bathing tarpayitvā — satisfying by offerings pitṝn — the departed forefathers surān — and the demigods bhojayitvā — feeding uṣijaḥ — worshipable viprān — the brāhmaṇas nānā — various guṇa-vatā — having tastes andhasā — with foodstuffs teṣu — in them (the brāhmaṇas) dānāni — gifts pātreṣu — as fitting candidates for charity śraddhayā — faithfully uptvā — sowing (i.e. offering to them) mahānti — great vai — indeed vṛjināni — the dangers tariṣyāmaḥ — we will cross over dānaiḥ — by our charity naubhiḥ — with boats iva — as if arṇavam — the ocean.

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

vayaṁ ca tasminn āplutya

vayam

also

tasmin

at that place

āplutya

bathing

tarpayitvā pitṝn surān

tarpayitvā

satisfying by offerings

pitṝn

the departed forefathers

surān

and the demigods

bhojayitvoṣijo viprān

bhojayitvā

feeding

uṣijaḥ

worshipable

viprān

the brāhmaṇas

nānā-guṇavatāndhasā

nānā

various

guṇa-vatā

having tastes

andhasā

with foodstuffs

teṣu dānāni pātreṣu

teṣu

in them (the brāhmaṇas)

dānāni

gifts

pātreṣu

as fitting candidates for charity

śraddhayoptvā mahānti vai

śraddhayā

faithfully

uptvā

sowing (i.e. offering to them)

mahānti

great

vai

indeed

vṛjināni tariṣyāmo

vṛjināni

the dangers

tariṣyāmaḥ

we will cross over

dānair naubhir ivārṇavam

dānaiḥ

by our charity

naubhiḥ

with boats

iva

as if

arṇavam

the ocean.

By bathing at Prabhāsa-kṣetra, by offering sacrifice there to placate the forefathers and demigods, by feeding the worshipable brāhmaṇas with various delicious foodstuffs and by bestowing opulent gifts upon them as the most suitable candidates for charity, we will certainly cross over these terrible dangers through such acts of charity, just as one can cross over a great ocean in a suitable boat.

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

By bathing at Prabhāsa, by offering tarpanas to the Pitṛs and devatās, by feeding the worshipable brāhmaṇas with various delicious foodstuffs and by bestowing gifts upon them as the most suitable candidates for charity, like sowing seeds, we will certainly cross over these terrible dangers through such acts of charity, just as one can cross over a great ocean in a suitable boat. We will feed the attractive (uśijaḥ) brāhmaṇas with food (andhasā). Just as on sowing seeds in a fertile field one obtains many fruits, so by giving charity to qualified candidates, we will obtain great results.

Personal Guidance

Cross life's terrible dangers as one crosses an ocean by boat — through pilgrimage, offering to forefathers, and feeding worthy brāhmaṇas with śraddhā.

Practical Applications

Identify one 'worshipable' recipient today — a sincere devotee or brāhmaṇa — and feed them or serve them with care, not as a transaction but as offering.
Set aside a fixed portion of this month's income for dāna placed in a suitable pātra, refusing the impulse to scatter it on unworthy causes that feel good.
Before any act of charity today, pause and place śraddhā in the heart first — give nothing mechanically, give nothing without faith in Kṛṣṇa behind the act.

Reflection Questions

Where have I been treating my own efforts and savings as the 'boat' that will carry me across life's dangers, rather than dāna offered with śraddhā to suitable recipients?
Who in my life is a genuine pātra for charity, and how have I quietly avoided giving to them because they ask nothing of me in return?

For Each Age Group

youth

When you next have spare money from a stipend or part-time job, give a small fixed portion to a devotee or temple feeding program before you spend it on yourself or friends.
Notice how you 'give' attention on social media — to whom, and why — and ask whether those recipients are pātra or just loud; redirect some of that attention toward a sincere practitioner you know.
Refuse the campus reflex that every cause with a hashtag deserves your support equally; learn to discriminate suitable recipients without becoming cynical about giving itself.

householder

Build dāna into the family budget as a fixed line item — not leftovers, not impulse — and decide together with your spouse which suitable recipients receive it this year.
Take your children with you when you give to a brāhmaṇa, devotee, or temple kitchen, so they learn early that the 'boat' across life's ocean is built with śraddhā, not net worth.
When a relative's death or anniversary comes, do not let the occasion pass into mere sentiment — perform a concrete act of charity in their name, directed toward a suitable pātra.

senior

Review your will and your monthly giving with this verse in hand: are the recipients suitable pātra who will carry your charity across, or convenient names that asked at the right moment?
Use your remaining years to mentor a younger devotee in the discrimination of pātra — what you have learned about who is a true recipient is itself a form of dāna.
As attachments to property and savings loosen, deliberately direct portions toward feeding devotees and brāhmaṇas, treating each gift as boat-building for the crossing now visibly ahead.

Common Pitfalls

Treating charity as a self-improvement project — measuring the giver's growth instead of the recipient's suitability.
Giving generously to causes that flatter our modern sensibilities while neglecting the brāhmaṇas and devotees the verse names as pātra.
Performing the outer acts — pilgrimage, feeding, gifts — without śraddhā, so the 'boat' is built but has no one steering it across.

Discussion Prompts

The verse names specific recipients — forefathers, demigods, brāhmaṇas. How do we honor this specificity today without collapsing it into a generic 'give to whoever is in need'?
Share a time you gave dāna and felt it was wasted on an unsuitable recipient. What did that teach you about pātra that the verse here is pointing to?
If charity is the boat that crosses the ocean of danger, what is the ocean for you right now — and have you been trying to swim it on your own strength?

Role Play

A family member has just received a year-end bonus and wants to split it: half to a trending online fundraiser with viral appeal, half to a quiet local temple's brāhmaṇa-bhojana program that no one will ever post about. Two students play the family member and a Gauḍīya friend; the friend must counsel from this verse without sounding dismissive of the fundraiser, drawing out what makes a recipient a true pātra.

Objections & Responses

Feeding brāhmaṇas and offering to forefathers sounds like Vedic ritualism — surely in Kali-yuga, plain harināma and giving to anyone hungry is enough.
Harināma is indeed the yuga-dharma, but this verse is teaching the principle of pātra — that dāna placed in suitable hands with śraddhā becomes the boat that crosses the ocean. Feeding a devotee or brāhmaṇa is not Vedic nostalgia; it is recognizing that some recipients carry our charity across, and others let it sink. The form adapts to Kali-yuga; the principle does not.
Calling some people more 'suitable' recipients than others sounds elitist — every human being deserves charity equally.
Indiscriminate giving feels egalitarian but is actually a refusal to discriminate, which Kṛṣṇa Himself praises in His devotees. A doctor who gives the same medicine to every patient is not compassionate, just careless. The verse is not denying anyone food; it is teaching that dāna with śraddhā placed in a genuine pātra produces a specific spiritual result — and pretending otherwise wastes both our charity and our life.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io