Shloka 13

अन्नदान-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Gift of Food) | Annadāna-Praśaṃsā

Devanagari script

आशिषं ये न देवेषु न च मर्त्येषु कुर्वते । अर्लन्तो नित्यसंतुष्टास्तथा लब्धोपजीविन:

Transliteration

āśiṣaṃ ye na deveṣu na ca martyeṣu kurvate | alpa-icchantō nitya-santuṣṭās tathā labdhopajīvinaḥ |

Translation

ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಓ ಯುಧಿಷ್ಠಿರ! ದೇವರಿಂದಲೂ ಮನುಷ್ಯರಿಂದಲೂ ಯಾವುದನ್ನೂ ಬಯಸದ, ಅಲ್ಪೇಚ್ಛುಗಳಾಗಿ ನಿತ್ಯಸಂತೃಪ್ತರಾಗಿದ್ದು ದೊರಕಿದುದರಿಂದಲೇ ಬದುಕುವ ಪೂಜ್ಯ ದ್ವಿಜಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠರನ್ನು ದೂತರ ಮೂಲಕ ಹುಡುಕಿ ಆಹ್ವಾನಿಸು. ಓ ಭಾರತ! ಅವರು ದುಃಖಿತರಾದರೆ ವಿಷಧರ ಸರ್ಪಗಳಂತೆ ಭಯಂಕರರಾಗುತ್ತಾರೆ; ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಅವರ ಸತ್ಕಾರದಿಂದ ನಿನ್ನನ್ನು ರಕ್ಷಿಸಿಕೋ. ಓ ಕುರುನಂದನ! ಸೇವಕರು ಮತ್ತು ಅಗತ್ಯ ಸಾಮಗ್ರಿಗಳಿಂದ ಸಮೃದ್ಧವಾದ ಸುಖದ ಗೃಹವನ್ನು ಅರ್ಪಿಸಿ, ಪ್ರತಿದಿನವೂ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ಆತಿಥ್ಯ-ಸತ್ಕಾರ ಮಾಡು.

Word by Word

• आशिषम्: wish, desire (a blessing sought)
• आशिषम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आशिष्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• देवेषु: among the gods
• देवेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• न: nor
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• मर्त्येषु: among mortals
• मर्त्येषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्त्य
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• कुर्वते: do, make (i.e., entertain/perform)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Present, Ātmanepada, Third, Plural

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• devas (gods)
• martyas (mortals/humans)
• dvijas (twice-born Brahmins)
• messengers (dūtas, implied by gloss)
• venomous serpent (viṣadhara sarpa, metaphor in gloss)
• household/home (gṛha, implied by gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.