Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 2
अन्नं ब्रह्म इति प्रोक्तमन्ने प्राणाः प्रतिष्ठिताः । तस्मादन्नप्रदो नित्यं वारिदश्च भवेन्नरः
annaṃ brahma iti proktamanne prāṇāḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ | tasmādannaprado nityaṃ vāridaśca bhavennaraḥ
അന്നം ബ്രഹ്മമാണെന്ന് പ്രസ്താവിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു; അന്നത്തിലാണ് പ്രാണങ്ങൾ പ്രതിഷ്ഠിതം. അതിനാൽ മനുഷ്യൻ നിത്യവും അന്നദാതാവും ജലദാതാവും ആകണം.
A Purāṇic narrator addressing Devarṣi Nārada (deduced from nearby vocative 'nārada')
Listener: Ṛṣis (implied)
Scene: A donor offers bowls of cooked rice and jars of cool water to pilgrims and mendicants; a subtle radiance indicates ‘anna as Brahman’—Brahman present in the act of feeding.
FAQs
Since life itself rests on food, giving food (and water) is upheld as a highest form of dharma and reverence to Brahman.
The verse appears within a Tīrthamāhātmya setting, but this line itself praises dāna universally rather than naming a single tīrtha.
Regular charity of food (annadāna) and water (jaladāna).