Shloka 24
Viṣṇu-sahasranāma—Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Recitation (विष्णोर्नामसहस्रम्)
अल्पव्ययं महार्थ च प्रेत्य चैव सुखोदयम् । पानीयस्य गुणा दिव्या: प्रेतलोके विशेषत:
alpavyayaṁ mahārthaṁ ca pretya caiva sukhodayam | pānīyasya guṇā divyāḥ pretaloke viśeṣataḥ ||
Yama bersabda: “Dharma ini menuntut pengorbanan yang kecil, namun berbuah manfaat besar; bahkan setelah kematian pun darinya terbit kebahagiaan sejati. Sifat-sifat air bersifat ilahi, dan di alam para arwah sifat itu tampak dengan sangat nyata.”
यम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a modest act of dharma—here centered on providing water—can produce immense spiritual benefit, including happiness after death; water is portrayed as inherently sacred and especially efficacious for the welfare of beings in the preta-loka.
Yama, the lord of dharma and the dead, is explaining the fruit of a particular righteous practice: offering/providing water. He emphasizes its low material cost, high moral-spiritual return, and its special significance for the departed.