Shloka 25
छत्रोपानहदानफलप्रशंसा — Praise of the Merit of Donating Umbrella and Footwear
जातकर्माणि सर्वाणि व्रतोपनयनानि च । गोदानानि विवाहाश्न तथा यज्ञसमृद्धयः
jātakarmāṇi sarvāṇi vratopanayanāni ca | godānāni vivāhāś ca tathā yajñasamṛddhayaḥ ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: Todos los ritos, comenzando por el sacramento del nacimiento—los votos y la iniciación del cordón sagrado, los dones de vacas, los matrimonios y, asimismo, la prosperidad de los sacrificios—se cumplen gracias al alimento y a su provisión. Así, el verso subraya que la firmeza del dharma en la vida doméstica y ritual descansa en el sustento material que mantiene a los seres, especialmente el anna (alimento).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Rituals, social sacraments, and meritorious gifts depend on sustenance—especially food and the resources that provide it. Dharma is not merely an ideal; it requires practical support to be enacted.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he lists major life-rites and religious acts to emphasize that their successful performance relies on material provision (implicitly, the household economy and the duty to sustain others).