Sanskrit
दातव्यमिति यद्दानं दीयतेऽनुपकारिणे । देशे काले च पात्रे च तद्दानं सात्त्विकं स्मृतम् ॥
dātavyam iti yad dānaṃ dīyate'nupakāriṇe deśe kāle ca pātre ca tad dānaṃ sāttvikaṃ smṛtam
Translation
That alms given to one who does nothing in return, believing that a gift ought to be made in a fit place and time to a worthy person, that alms is accounted pure.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Gift-giving (dāna) is the fourth and final domain to receive the threefold treatment, and its sattvic form applies the same logic as sattvic sacrifice and austerity to generosity specifically: given as duty (dātavyam iti), to someone who can’t repay it (anupakāriṇe), at the right place, time, and to a worthy recipient. Stripping reciprocity out of the definition of “pure” giving is the chapter’s clearest statement yet that non-attachment to outcome, not the size of the gift, is what makes an act sattvic.