Shloka 5
अन्नदान-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Gift of Food) | Annadāna-Praśaṃsā
भीष्मजीने कहा--युधिष्ठिर! सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंकों अभयदान देना
bhīṣma uvāca—yudhiṣṭhira! sarva-prāṇibhyo ’bhaya-dānaṃ, saṅkaṭa-kāle teṣāṃ prati anugrahaḥ, yācakāya iṣṭa-vastu-pradānaṃ, tṛṣārtaṃ jalaṃ yācamānaṃ pāyayituṃ ca—etad uttamaṃ dānam. yat tu dattvā dattam eva manyeta, yatra kvacid api mamatā-gandho na tiṣṭhet, tad dānaṃ śreṣṭham ucyate. bharata-śreṣṭha! tad eva dānaṃ dātāram anusarati. hiraṇya-dānaṃ go-dānaṃ pṛthivī-dānam eva ca—etāni vai pavitrāṇi, tārayanty api duṣkṛtam.
भीष्म उवाच—युधिष्ठिर! सर्वभूतेभ्योऽभयदानं, आपत्कालेषु तेषामनुग्रहः, याचकाय यथेष्टं दानं, तृषार्ताय जलप्रदानं च—एतत् परमं दानम्। यच्च दत्त्वा ‘दत्तमेव’ इति मन्यते, यत्र ममत्वगन्धोऽपि नावतिष्ठते, तद् दानं श्रेष्ठमुच्यते, भरतश्रेष्ठ; तदेव दातारमन्वेति। हिरण्यदानं गोदानं पृथिवीदानमेव च—एतानि त्रयः पवित्राणि दानानि, दुष्कृतिनमपि तारयन्ति।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The highest charity is compassionate protection and relief—especially granting fearlessness, helping in crisis, fulfilling a worthy request, and giving water to the thirsty. A gift becomes ‘supreme’ when it is given without any lingering possessiveness; such giving spiritually accompanies and elevates the giver. Traditional major purifying gifts include gold, cows, and land.
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma continues advising King Yudhishthira about the ethics of giving. He ranks forms of dāna, emphasizes inner renunciation (absence of mamatā) as the mark of superior charity, and then names three classical, highly meritorious gifts—gold, cows, and land.