Vishnu dharma consists of the advice and guidelines given to King Sataneeka by sage Saunaka. He describes different types of daana which can be given, how to give daana and who are deserving enough to be the recipients of daana. Why is daana important? There are many mistakes that we make in life, some of them knowingly and some unknowingly. And for each, naturally, there are consequences. How do we atone for our sins?
One way is to recite the Purushasuktam forty times. Other ways to get rid of sins would be through observing mouna vrata, through daana, through fasting, through aradhana and through bathing in sacred rivers, said Velukkudi Krishnan in a discourse. When we do a wicked or wrong deed, it gets registered with Bhagavan. We earn His displeasure with such acts. But just as wrong actions lead to His anger, our good acts earn for us His anugraha. His anger is erased only by His mercy.
So if one chooses daana as a means of atonement, how does one give daana? Let us suppose a man asks for daana, but we are fonder of another man who has not asked for anything. So instead of giving to the man in need, we give to the one we like, although he needs no help. This is a sin. It is all right for us to give to both. But to give to one and exclude the needy man is sinful. Suppose a Veda parayana is arranged in one’s house. It is possible that as the pandits are preparing to come, a poor pandit joins them in the hope of receiving some reward. We might have arranged only for a certain number of pandits. But if we turn away the extra man who has turned up, it would count as a sin. He has come along only because he has the need for the sambhavana. To deny him sambhavana ensures naraka for a person.