Pānīya-dāna and Anna-dāna: The Primacy of Life-Sustaining Gifts (पानीयदान-प्रशंसा / अन्नदान-प्रशंसा)
अन्न हि दत्त्वातिथये ब्राह्मणाय यथाविधि । प्रदाता सुखमाप्रोति दैवतैश्नापि पूज्यते,अतिथि ब्राह्मणको विधिपूर्वक अन्नदान करके दाता परलोकमें सुख पाता है और देवता भी उसका आदर करते हैं
anna hi dattvātithaye brāhmaṇāya yathāvidhi | pradātā sukham āpnoti daivataiś cāpi pūjyate ||
Nārada sprach: „Wenn jemand einem Gast — besonders einem Brāhmaṇa — nach den rechten Riten ordnungsgemäß Speise darbringt, erlangt der Spender Glück im Jenseits und wird sogar von den Göttern geehrt.“
नारद उवाच
Properly feeding a guest—especially a brāhmaṇa—is a dharmic act of dāna that yields happiness in the next world and earns honor even from the gods.
Nārada is instructing on righteous conduct, emphasizing hospitality and food-giving performed according to prescribed norms as a source of spiritual merit and divine respect.