Shloka 25
Pānīya-dāna and Anna-dāna: The Primacy of Life-Sustaining Gifts (पानीयदान-प्रशंसा / अन्नदान-प्रशंसा)
अन्न प्राणा नराणां हि सर्वमन्ने प्रतेष्ठितम् । अन्नदः पशुमान् पुत्री धनवान् भोगवानपि
nārada uvāca | annaṃ prāṇā narāṇāṃ hi sarvam anne pratiṣṭhitam | annadaḥ paśumān putrī dhanavān bhogavān api, nareśvara |
Nārada disse: “O alimento é, de fato, o próprio sopro de vida dos seres humanos; tudo se estabelece sobre o alimento. Portanto, ó rei, aquele que dá alimento alcança gado, filhos, riqueza e também gozos. No mundo, o homem que dá alimento é considerado doador de vida e, de fato, é chamado de quem dá tudo.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Food sustains life and underlies all human activity; therefore, donating food (annadāna) is among the highest forms of charity, equated with giving life itself and bringing broad worldly and moral rewards.
Nārada addresses a king and instructs him on the ethical greatness of giving food, explaining that since all beings depend on food, the donor of food is honored as a life-giver and gains prosperity and lineage.