Shloka 19

Pānīya-dāna and Anna-dāna: The Primacy of Life-Sustaining Gifts (पानीयदान-प्रशंसा / अन्नदान-प्रशंसा)

Devanagari script

अन्नदस्यान्नवक्षाश्व॒ सर्वकामफलप्रदा: । भवन्ति चेह चामुत्र नृपतेर्नात्र संशय:

Transliteration

nāradā uvāca | annadasyānnavakṣāśva sarvakāmaphalapradāḥ | bhavanti ceha cāmutra nṛpater nātra saṁśayaḥ ||

Translation

अन्नदस्य अन्नवक्षाश्च सर्वकामफलप्रदाः। भवन्ति चेह चामुत्र नृपतेर्नात्र संशयः॥

Word by Word

• अन्नदस्य: of the giver of food
• अन्नदस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्नद
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• अन्नवक्षाः: food-bearing trees/plants
• अन्नवक्षाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्नवक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सर्वकामफलप्रदाः: granting the fruit of all desires
• सर्वकामफलप्रदाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्वकामफलप्रद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भवन्ति: become/are
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• इह: here (in this world)
• इह: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अमुत्र: there (in the other world)
• अमुत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अमुत्र

• नृपतेः: of the king
• नृपतेः: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृपति
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अत्र: here/in this matter
• अत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• king (nṛpati)
• food/grain (anna)
• crops/produce (vakṣāśva)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Food-giving (anna-dāna) is presented as a supreme form of charity: it yields comprehensive benefits and desired results for a ruler, bringing merit both in worldly life and in the afterlife.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada addresses a king and affirms, as a dharma-instruction, that the king who supports others through the gift of food gains assured auspicious results; the verse emphasizes certainty (“no doubt”) about this moral law.