Shloka 11

Devanagari script

प्राणा हुन्न॑ मनुष्याणां तस्माज्जन्तुश्व॒ जायते । अन्ने प्रतिेष्ठितो लोकस्तस्मादन्न॑ प्रशस्थते

Transliteration

prāṇā hy annam manuṣyāṇāṁ tasmāj jantuś ca jāyate | anne pratiṣṭhito lokas tasmād annaṁ praśasyate ||

Translation

“O alimento é, de fato, o sopro vital dos seres humanos; dele nascem as criaturas. O mundo está firmado no alimento; por isso o alimento é justamente louvado como o mais digno.”

Word by Word

प्राणाःvital breaths, lives

हिindeed, for

अन्नम्food

मनुष्याणाम्of humans

तस्मात्from that, therefore

जन्तुःa living being

चand

जायतेis born, arises

अन्नेin food, on food

प्रतिष्ठितःestablished, founded

लोकःworld, people

तस्मात्therefore, from that

अन्नम्food

प्रशस्यतेis praised, is commended

Speaker

युधिछ्िर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

anna (food)

prāṇa (life-breath)

loka (the world)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Food is presented as the foundation of life and society: it sustains prāṇa, enables birth and continuity of beings, and undergirds the stability of the world; therefore, honoring food and ensuring its provision (especially through feeding and charity) is an ethical duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a principle that supports teachings on dāna and righteous conduct: since all beings depend on food, praising and protecting food—and by extension supporting those who provide and distribute it—aligns with dharma.