Shloka 11
अन्नदान-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Gift of Food) | Annadāna-Praśaṃsā
कृशाय कृतविद्याय वृत्तिक्षीणाय सीदते | अपहन्यात् क्षुधां यस्तु न तेन पुरुष: सम:
kṛśāya kṛtavidyāya vṛttikṣīṇāya sīdate | apahanyāt kṣudhāṃ yas tu na tena puruṣaḥ samaḥ ||
قال بهيشما: «أمّا من هزل جسمُه، وإن كان ذا علم، وقد ضاق رزقُه وغاص في الكرب، فمن يرفع عنه الجوع فلا يساويه أحدٌ في الفضل. إنّ أعظمَ الأجر في إسناد العالِم والمُنكَسِر بطعامٍ وعونٍ في أوانهما.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Feeding and sustaining a distressed person—especially one who is learned yet impoverished—is presented as an unsurpassed act of merit; removing hunger is among the highest forms of dharmic charity.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he praises the ethical greatness of one who relieves hunger in a suffering, livelihood-deprived person, elevating practical compassion above other claims to virtue.