Shloka 20
अन्नदान-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Gift of Food) | Annadāna-Praśaṃsā
एष ते विततो यज्ञ: श्रद्धापूत: सदक्षिण: । विशिष्ट: सर्वयज्ञेभ्यो ददतस्तात वर्तताम्
eṣa te vitato yajñaḥ śraddhāpūtaḥ sadakṣiṇaḥ | viśiṣṭaḥ sarvayajñebhyo dadatastāta vartatām ||
भीष्म म्हणाले—तात! तुझा हा विस्तृत दान-यज्ञ श्रद्धेने पवित्र आणि योग्य दक्षिणेने युक्त आहे. तो सर्व यज्ञांपेक्षा श्रेष्ठ आहे. हे प्रिय! तू दान करीत राहो; तुझा हा यज्ञ सदैव प्रवर्तत राहो.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that generous giving, when performed with śraddhā (sincere faith) and accompanied by proper dakṣiṇā (appropriate gifts to the deserving), becomes a superior form of yajña—an ongoing ethical sacrifice that can surpass ritual offerings.
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma praises the listener’s practice of charitable giving as a vast, faith-purified sacrifice and blesses it to continue unceasingly.