Mahabharata 3.201.33 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 33
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
पृच्छन्ति चात्र दातारं वदन्ति पुरुषा भुवि
pṛcchanti cātra dātāraṃ vadanti puruṣā bhuvi, annadātṛ-samaḥ so 'pi kīrtyate nātra saṃśayaḥ |
Wika ni Mārkaṇḍeya: “Dito sa lupa, kapag ang mga tao’y nagtatanong tungkol sa isang nagbibigay at pinupuri ang nagkakaloob, maging ang taong nagtuturo kung saan makakakuha ng pagkain ay pinupuri ring kapantay ng nagbibigay ng pagkain—walang alinlangan dito.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Helping the hungry is so central to dharma that even directing someone to a source of food is treated as morally equivalent to feeding them oneself; intention and practical assistance both generate merit.
In Mārkaṇḍeya’s discourse on righteous conduct, he explains how society praises beneficence: when people seek a donor of food, the one who provides reliable guidance to obtain food is also honored like an actual food-giver.
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