Shloka 24
Viṣṇu-sahasranāma—Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Recitation (विष्णोर्नामसहस्रम्)
अल्पव्ययं महार्थ च प्रेत्य चैव सुखोदयम् । पानीयस्य गुणा दिव्या: प्रेतलोके विशेषत:
alpavyayaṁ mahārthaṁ ca pretya caiva sukhodayam | pānīyasya guṇā divyāḥ pretaloke viśeṣataḥ ||
قال يَمَا: «إن هذا الدَّرْمَا لا يحتاج إلا إلى نفقة يسيرة، غير أنّ ثمرته عظيمة؛ وحتى بعد الموت يُنبت سعادةً حقّة. وإن خصال الماء إلهيّة، وفي عالم الراحلين تتجلّى هذه الخصال على وجهٍ أخصّ.»
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a modest act of dharma—here centered on providing water—can produce immense spiritual benefit, including happiness after death; water is portrayed as inherently sacred and especially efficacious for the welfare of beings in the preta-loka.
Yama, the lord of dharma and the dead, is explaining the fruit of a particular righteous practice: offering/providing water. He emphasizes its low material cost, high moral-spiritual return, and its special significance for the departed.