यज्ञदानतपःकर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत्।यज्ञो दानं तपश्चैव पावनानि मनीषिणाम्॥
yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma na tyājyaṃ kāryam eva tatyajño dānaṃ tapaś caiva pāvanāni manīṣiṇām
Word by word
The verse says
Offering, giving and discipline must not be given up. They are to be done. Offering, giving and discipline are what make the thoughtful clean.
In plain words
He takes a side, and it is the second camp.
Three things stay: offering, giving, discipline. Not as options. They are to be done.
And the reason is the word pāvana - what cleans. These are not described as good deeds that earn you something. They are described as the washing.
Where you've felt this · in health
You have been ill for a week and have done nothing. On the first day you feel better you make the bed, have a shower and walk to the end of the road. None of that is an achievement and you are not better because of it. But you are more yourself by the afternoon than you were at breakfast, and the three small things are the reason.
Going deeper
These three practices are called cleaning rather than earning, and that distinction changes what they are for.
Earning is transactional. You do the thing, you accrue the credit, and the credit can be counted. Cleaning is not like that. Nobody washes in order to accumulate washes. You do it because dirt collects, and it collects again, so you do it again.
That is why these three are exempt from being given up. A person who has stopped giving anything away, stopped going without anything, and stopped offering anything up is not simplified. They are just slowly silting up.
It also lowers the bar in a helpful way. You are not being asked to be remarkable at any of the three. You are being asked to keep doing them, because the thing they work against does not stop either.