Shloka 39
Pānīya-dāna and Anna-dāna: The Primacy of Life-Sustaining Gifts (पानीयदान-प्रशंसा / अन्नदान-प्रशंसा)
ततः सस्यानि रोहन्ति येन वर्तयते जगत् | मांसमेदो<5स्थिशुक्राणां प्रादुर्भावस्तत: पुन:
tataḥ sasyāni rohanti yena vartayate jagat | māṁsa-medo'sthi-śukrāṇāṁ prādurbhāvas tataḥ punaḥ ||
Entonces brotan las cosechas; con ese fruto se sostiene el mundo. Y de ese alimento, de nuevo, se manifiestan en los seres vivos la carne, la grasa, el hueso y el semen—mostrando cómo la vida corporal depende de la cadena que comienza en la tierra fértil y húmeda y culmina en el sustento.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a chain of dependence: crops arise (from the earth and its moisture), the world is sustained by that food, and bodily constituents like flesh, fat, bone, and generative essence arise from nourishment—highlighting responsibility toward the sources of food and life.
Nārada explains how life is maintained through food: grain grows, beings live by it, and the body’s tissues and reproductive vitality are produced from it, reinforcing a moral reflection on sustenance and the conditions that support living beings.