Shloka 42
Pānīya-dāna and Anna-dāna: The Primacy of Life-Sustaining Gifts (पानीयदान-प्रशंसा / अन्नदान-प्रशंसा)
प्राणान् ददाति भूतानां तेजश्न भरतर्षभ । गृहमभ्यागतायाथ यो दद्यादन्नमर्थिने,भरतश्रेष्ठ) जो घरपर आये हुए याचकको अन्न देता है, वह सब प्राणियोंको प्राण और तेजका दान करता है
prāṇān dadāti bhūtānāṁ tejaś ca bharatarṣabha | gṛham abhyāgatāyātha yo dadyād annam arthine ||
Wahai yang terbaik di antara keturunan Bharata, siapa pun yang memberi makanan kepada peminta yang datang ke rumahnya, sesungguhnya menganugerahkan napas hidup dan daya cahaya kepada semua makhluk.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Food-giving (anna-dāna), especially to a needy person who comes to one’s home, is praised as a supreme form of charity because it sustains life itself—symbolically ‘giving prāṇa and tejas’ to beings.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma and gifts, Nārada addresses a Bharata prince and extols hospitality: feeding an arriving petitioner is presented as an act with universal life-sustaining ethical power.