Shloka 24
छत्रोपानहदानफलप्रशंसा — Praise of the Merit of Donating Umbrella and Footwear
ततस्तदौषधीनां च वीरुधां पुष्पपत्रजम् । सर्व वर्षाभिनिर्वत्तमन्न॑ं सम्भवति प्रभो,“उसीसे नाना प्रकारकी ओषधियाँ, लताएँ, पत्र-पुष्प, घास-पात आदि उत्पन्न होते हैं। प्रभो! प्रायः सभी प्रकारके अन्न वर्षके जलसे उत्पन्न होते हैं
tatastad-auṣadhīnāṁ ca vīrudhāṁ puṣpa-patrajam | sarva-varṣābhinirvattam annaṁ sambhavati prabho ||
Bhīṣma said: “From that (rain-water) arise the many kinds of medicinal herbs and creeping plants, along with their flowers and leaves. O Lord, in general all varieties of food-grain come into being through the waters of the rains.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Rain is presented as a primary support of life: it generates herbs, vegetation, and ultimately food-grain. The ethical implication is gratitude and responsible conduct (dharma) toward the natural order that sustains society.
Bhīṣma is instructing his listener (addressed as ‘prabho’) within Anuśāsana Parva, explaining the causal chain by which rain-water leads to the growth of plants and the production of food, reinforcing a didactic point about sustenance and order.