Shloka 13
अन्नदान-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Gift of Food) | Annadāna-Praśaṃsā
आशिषं ये न देवेषु न च मर्त्येषु कुर्वते । अर्लन्तो नित्यसंतुष्टास्तथा लब्धोपजीविन:
āśiṣaṃ ye na deveṣu na ca martyeṣu kurvate | alpa-icchantō nitya-santuṣṭās tathā labdhopajīvinaḥ |
ビーシュマは言った。「ユディシュティラよ、使者を遣わして、尊ぶべき最上の『二度生まれ』を探し出し、招け。彼らは神にも人にも何ものも願わず、欲少なく、常に足るを知り、得たもので生きる者たちである。バーラタよ、そのような人々が苦境に追い込まれると、毒蛇のごとく恐るべき存在となり得る。ゆえに、彼らを敬うことで自らを守れ。クルの裔よ、侍者と必要な備えの整った心地よい住まいへ迎え、日々欠けることのないもてなしを尽くせ。彼らの満足こそが福祉を生み、目的成就の因となるのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler should actively seek out and honor truly renunciant, content Brahmins who ask nothing of gods or men and live on what comes. Their goodwill safeguards the king; neglecting or offending them can invite grave harm, so daily, complete hospitality is presented as a practical expression of dharma and self-protection.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on royal conduct and dharma. Here he urges the king to locate such ascetic, low-desire Brahmins via messengers, invite them into a well-provisioned home, and honor them continually—warning that if they are made unhappy they may become dangerously wrathful, like venomous serpents.