Shloka 33
नरकयातनावर्णनम् / Description of Hell-Torments for Specific Transgressions
येऽन्नं दत्त्वा हि भुंजंति न श्वभ्यस्सह वायसैः । तेषां च विवृतं वक्त्रं कीलकद्वयताडितम्
ye'nnaṃ dattvā hi bhuṃjaṃti na śvabhyassaha vāyasaiḥ | teṣāṃ ca vivṛtaṃ vaktraṃ kīlakadvayatāḍitam
Those who, having first given food in charity, then partake—without having to share their meal with dogs and crows—receive this reward: their mouths are opened wide, as though struck by a pair of pegs, made fit and unobstructed for eating.
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Sadāśiva
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Annapūrṇā
Role: nurturing
Offering: naivedya
FAQs
It praises annadāna (offering food) as a Shaiva dharma: giving first purifies the giver’s intention and aligns action (karma) with compassion, producing an auspicious, unobstructed result—symbolized by the mouth being “opened,” i.e., capacity and well-being granted by divine order.
In Saguna Shiva worship, devotion is expressed through service (sevā) and charity; feeding others is treated as honoring Shiva present in beings. Thus, annadāna complements Linga-pūjā by turning ritual reverence into lived dharma.
A practical takeaway is annadāna before one’s own meal—especially on Shiva-vrata days—performed with a simple prayer to Shiva (e.g., mental japa of the Panchākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) while offering food respectfully to the needy.