Shloka 19

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

Devanagari script

यथान्निहोत्रं सुहुतं सायंप्रातर्द्धिजातिना । तथा दत्तं द्विजातिभ्यो भवत्यथ यतात्मसु,द्विजके द्वारा सायं और प्रातःकाल विधिपूर्वक किया हुआ अग्निहोत्र जो फल प्रदान करता है, वही फल संयमी ब्राह्मणोंको दान देनेसे मिलता है

Transliteration

yathānnihotraṃ suhutaṃ sāyaṃ prātar dvijātinā | tathā dattaṃ dvijātibhyo bhavaty atha yatātmasu ||

Translation

Bhishma berkata: Sebagaimana upacara Agnihotra yang dipersembahkan dengan sempurna oleh seorang dvija (yang “dua kali lahir”) pada waktu senja dan fajar menghasilkan ganjarannya yang wajar, demikian juga sedekah yang diberikan kepada para dvija—apabila mereka berdisiplin dan menguasai diri—melahirkan pahala yang sama.

Word by Word

यथाjust as

अग्निहोत्रम्Agnihotra rite

सुहुतम्well-offered (properly performed)

सायम्in the evening

प्रातःin the morning

द्विजातिनाby a twice-born (Brahmin etc.)

तथाso, likewise

दत्तम्a gift given

द्विजातिभ्यःto the twice-born (Brahmins etc.)

भवतिbecomes, results (in)

अथthen/indeed

यतात्मसुamong the self-controlled (persons)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Agnihotra

dvija (twice-born)

dāna (gift/charity)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Proper charity (dāna) given to worthy, self-controlled twice-born recipients can yield merit comparable to the merit of correctly performed daily Agnihotra sacrifices; ethical giving is presented as a powerful dharmic act.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anushasana Parva), he explains to his listener that the spiritual fruit of ritual sacrifice is matched by the fruit of giving—provided the recipients are disciplined and the act aligns with dharmic standards.