Shloka 22
गोप्रदान-माहात्म्ये गोलोक-प्रश्नः
Gopradāna-Māhātmya: Inquiry into Goloka
आपो नित्य प्रदेयास्ते पुण्यं होतदनुत्तमम् । प्रपाश्न॒ कार्या दानार्थ नित्यं ते द्विजसत्तम । भुक्तेडप्यन्न॑ प्रदेयं तु पानीयं वै विशेषत:
āpo nityaṃ pradeyās te puṇyaṃ hy etad anuttamam | prapāś ca kāryā dānārthaṃ nityaṃ te dvijasattama || bhukte 'py annaṃ pradeyaṃ tu pānīyaṃ vai viśeṣataḥ ||
قال يَما: «الماءُ ينبغي أن يُتصدَّق به كلَّ يوم؛ فهذا ثوابٌ لا يُدانيه ثواب. ولأجل الصدقة، يا خيرَ ذوي الولادتين، أقم كذلك على الدوام “برَبا” (محطّة ماءٍ عامة). وحتى من أكلَ من قبلُ ينبغي أن يُعطى طعامًا؛ غير أنّ أعظمَ ما يلزم للجميع هو هبةُ ماء الشرب».
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Daily giving of drinking water—ideally by establishing a public water-station (prapā)—is praised as an unsurpassed meritorious act; generosity should extend even beyond immediate need, with water emphasized as universally necessary.
Yama instructs a Brahmin (addressed as dvijasattama) on practical dharma: regular charity through water-gifts and setting up a prapā, and the broader ethic of feeding others even if they have already eaten, highlighting water as the foremost gift.