("fee of the preceptor") Gifts or payments paid to a teacher in exchange for their services.
The dharma literature, or works on religious obligation (dharma), which suggest an idealized theory for the four phases (ashramas) of a man's life, is the prototype for this.
The first stage is that of a celibate student (brahmacharin), in which the young man lives with his instructor and begins studying the Vedas, the earliest Hindu sacred writings.
As a token of gratitude, the student would offer dakshina to his instructor at the end of his studies.
In modern times, this pattern has been extended to other contexts, particularly the arts, and it has become customary for students to give gifts to their teachers on various occasions, especially on Guru Purnima, the full moon that occurs in June or July.
Dakshina is always given in exchange for services, and thus is essentially "owed" payment for these services.
It is a very different mode of exchange from dana in this regard (charitable giving).
Dana creates religious merit for the giver, but the donor gets nothing in return.
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