Shloka 4
अन्नदान-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Gift of Food) | Annadāna-Praśaṃsā
दत्तं मन्येत यद् दत्त्वा तद् दान श्रेष्ठमुच्यते । दत्तं दातारमन्वेति यद् दानं भरतर्षभ
dattam manyeta yad dattvā tad dānaṃ śreṣṭham ucyate | dattaṃ dātāram anveti yad dānaṃ bharatarṣabha ||
Bhīṣma said: “That gift is called the best, O bull among the Bharatas, after giving which the giver feels, ‘It has truly been given.’ And that is a gift which, once given, continues to follow the giver—its merit and consequence accompany him.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The highest form of giving is that which is given with full inner assent—without regret, calculation, or lingering sense of loss. Such a gift ‘follows’ the giver, meaning its ethical and karmic fruit accompanies the donor beyond the moment of giving.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, especially duties like charity. Here he defines what makes a gift truly excellent: the giver’s wholehearted intention and the enduring merit that results.