Shloka 30
Pānīya-dāna and Anna-dāna: The Primacy of Life-Sustaining Gifts (पानीयदान-प्रशंसा / अन्नदान-प्रशंसा)
अन्नाद्धि प्रसव यान्ति रतिरन्नाद्धि भारत । धर्मार्थावन्नतो विद्धि रोगनाशं तथान्नत:
annād dhi prasavaṃ yānti ratir annād dhi bhārata | dharmārthāv annato viddhi roganāśaṃ tathā annataḥ ||
Nārada dijo: «¡Oh Bharata! De la comida, en verdad, procede la procreación de los hijos; de la comida, en verdad, se cumple la unión amorosa. Sabe que también el dharma y el artha se realizan por medio del alimento; y asimismo, por el alimento se destruyen las enfermedades».
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Food (anna) is presented as the foundational support of human life: it enables procreation and marital pleasure, sustains the pursuit of dharma and artha, and promotes health by removing disease. The ethical implication is that ensuring nourishment is a primary duty and a basis for righteous living.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused discourse, Nārada addresses Yudhiṣṭhira (as “Bhārata”), emphasizing the practical and moral centrality of food as the root condition for family continuity, social order, prosperity, and bodily well-being.