Shloka 39
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
तस्मात् सर्वाणि भूतानि स्थावराणि चराणि च । तस्मादन्नं विशिष्ट हि सर्वेभ्य इति विश्रुतम्,यज्ञसे समस्त चराचर प्राणी उत्पन्न होते हैं। अत: अन्न ही सब पदार्थोसे श्रेष्ठ है। यह बात सर्वत्र प्रसिद्ध है
tasmāt sarvāṇi bhūtāni sthāvarāṇi carāṇi ca | tasmād annaṃ viśiṣṭaṃ hi sarvebhya iti viśrutam ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “From food arise all beings—both the immobile and the mobile. Therefore food is indeed superior to all else; this is a truth widely acknowledged.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
All life—moving and unmoving—depends on anna (food/sustenance). Because it supports existence itself, food is praised as ‘superior’ and deserves respect, careful use, and sharing as a dharmic duty.
Mārkaṇḍeya is instructing his listeners by stating a widely accepted principle: the origin and maintenance of beings rests on food, reinforcing the moral importance of sustaining life and honoring the means of nourishment.