Shloka 2

Gopradāna-phalasaṃprāpti: Nāciketa’s Vision of Vaivasvata’s Realms (गोप्रदानफलसम्प्राप्तिः — नाचिकेतोपाख्यानम्)

Devanagari script

पानीयदानमेवैतत्‌ कथं चेह महाफलम्‌ । इत्येतच्छोतुमिच्छामि विस्तरेण पितामह,पितामह! अब जलदान करनेसे कैसे महान्‌ फलकी प्राप्ति होती है, इस विषयको मैं विस्तारके साथ सुनना चाहता हूँ

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |

pānīyadānam evaitat kathaṃ ceha mahāphalam |

ity etac chrotum icchāmi vistareṇa pitāmaha pitāmaha ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Dies ist wahrlich die Gabe von Trinkwasser; doch wie bringt sie hier so großes Verdienst hervor? Großvater — o Großvater — ich wünsche, es ausführlich zu hören.“

Word by Word

• {'yudhiṣṭhira uvāca': 'Yudhiṣṭhira said', 'pānīya': 'drinking water

• potable water', 'dāna': 'gift

• charitable giving', 'pānīyadānam': 'the giving of drinking water', 'eva': 'indeed

• precisely', 'etad': 'this', 'katham': 'how? in what way?', 'iha': 'here (in this world / in this context)', 'mahāphalam': 'great fruit

• great result/merit', 'iti': 'thus

• in these words', 'etat': 'this (matter)', 'śrotum': 'to hear', 'icchāmi': 'I wish

• I desire', 'vistareṇa': 'in detail

• at length', 'pitāmaha': 'grandfather

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha)
• pānīya (drinking water)
• pānīya-dāna (gift of water)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a dharma-inquiry: even a seemingly simple act—giving drinking water—can produce great spiritual and ethical merit, and Yudhiṣṭhira seeks the rationale and principles behind that fruit.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīṣma as ‘Pitāmaha’ and asks him to explain, in detail, how the gift of water leads to great results.