Shloka 4

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

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच इममर्थ पुरा पृष्टो नारदो देवदर्शन: । यदुक्तवानसौ वाक्यं तन्मे निगदत: शृणु

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | imam arthaṃ purā pṛṣṭo nārado devadarśanaḥ | yad uktavān asau vākyaṃ tan me nigadataḥ śṛṇu ||

Translation

భీష్ముడు పలికెను—యుధిష్ఠిరా! ఇదే విషయమై నేను ఒకప్పుడు దేవదర్శి నారదుని ప్రశ్నించితిని. అప్పుడు ఆయన పలికిన వాక్యములను ఇప్పుడు నీకు వివరిస్తున్నాను—వినుము.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'bhīṣma uvāca', 'definition': 'Bhishma said'}, {'term': 'imam arthaṃ', 'definition': 'this matter

• this point of inquiry'}, {'term': 'purā', 'definition': 'formerly

• once upon a time'}, {'term': 'pṛṣṭaḥ', 'definition': 'asked

• questioned (having been asked/one who asked, per context)'}, {'term': 'nāradaḥ', 'definition': 'Narada (divine sage, messenger, teacher)'}, {'term': 'devadarśanaḥ', 'definition': 'one who sees the gods

• a seer with divine vision'}, {'term': 'yad uktavān', 'definition': 'what (he) said

• what was spoken'}, {'term': 'asau', 'definition': 'that (person), he'}, {'term': 'vākyaṃ', 'definition': 'speech

• utterance'}, {'term': 'tat', 'definition': 'that

• the same (teaching)'}, {'term': 'me', 'definition': 'to me

• by me (contextual)'}, {'term': 'nigadataḥ', 'definition': 'as I relate/tell

• while I recount'}, {'term': 'śṛṇu', 'definition': 'listen'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Narada

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the ethical authority of received wisdom: Bhishma grounds his instruction in a prior inquiry to the sage Narada and invites attentive listening, presenting dharma as something carefully questioned, verified, and faithfully transmitted.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma begins a new segment of counsel by stating that he once asked Narada about the same topic and will now repeat Narada’s reply, signaling a shift to a reported teaching from a revered seer.