Editing Alms (section)

==== In the Upanishads ====
The early [[Upanishads]], those composed before 500 BCE, discuss the virtue of almsgiving. For example, [[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad]] states in verse 5.2.3 that three characteristics of a good, developed person are self-restraint (''[[Temperance (virtue)#Hinduism|dama]]''), compassion or love for all sentient life (''daya''), and charity (''{{IAST|dāna}}'').<ref name=kane>PV Kane, [https://archive.org/stream/historyofdharmas029210mbp#page/n61/mode/2up Samanya Dharma], History of Dharmasastra, Vol. 2, Part 1, page 5</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_sa/brinew-proofed_sa.html|title=major_works in Devanagari script : Sanskrit Documents|website=sanskritdocuments.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214104135/http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_sa/brinew-proofed_sa.html|archive-date=2014-12-14|access-date=2015-06-04}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/Brihadaranyaka.Upanishad.Shankara.Bhashya.by.Swami.Madhavananda#page/n843/mode/2up Brihadaranyaka Upanishad], Translator: S Madhavananda, page 816, For discussion: pages 814-821</ref> [[Chandogya Upanishad]], similarly, states in Book III that a virtuous life requires ''[[Tapas (Sanskrit)|tapas]]'' (meditation, asceticism), ''[[dāna]]'' (charity), ''[[arjava]]'' (straightforwardness, non-hypocrisy), ''[[ahimsa]]'' (non-violence, non-injury to all sentient beings) and ''[[satya]]vacana'' (truthfulness).<ref>अथ यत्तपो दानमार्जवमहिँसा सत्यवचनमिति ता अस्य दक्षिणाः Source: [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/छान्दोग्योपनिषद्_१ Chandogya Upanishad (Sanskrit)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515152136/https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%9B%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%A6%E0%A5%8D_%E0%A5%A7 |date=2018-05-15 }} Verse 3.17.4, Wikisource</ref>{{efn|name=Chandogya}}<ref>Robert Hume, [https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n233/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad] 3.17, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pages 212-213</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/Shankara.Bhashya-Chandogya.Upanishad-Ganganath.Jha.1942.English#page/n179/mode/2up Chandogya Upanishad with Shankara Bhashya] Ganganath Jha (Translator), pages 165-166</ref>