Shloka 43
Pānīya-dāna and Anna-dāna: The Primacy of Life-Sustaining Gifts (पानीयदान-प्रशंसा / अन्नदान-प्रशंसा)
भीष्म उवाच नारदेनैवमुक्तो5हमदामन्नं सदा नृप । अनसूयुस्त्वमप्यन्नं तस्माद् देहि गतज्वर:
bhīṣma uvāca nāradenaivam ukto ’ham adām annaṃ sadā nṛpa | anasūyus tvam apy annaṃ tasmād dehi gata-jvaraḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Wahai raja, ketika Nārada menerangkan kepadaku demikian tentang kebesaran sedekah makanan, sejak saat itu aku sentiasa bersedekah makanan. Maka engkau juga, bebas daripada iri hati dan mencari-cari salah, hendaklah terus memberi makanan; biarlah demam dukacitamu lenyap.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Food-giving (anna-dāna) is upheld as a powerful dharmic act; one should give without envy or fault-finding, and such generosity alleviates inner ‘fever’—distress and agitation.
Bhishma recalls that Narada taught him the greatness of donating food; he adopted the practice continually and now urges the king to do the same, abandoning jealousy and negativity.