Shloka 343
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
अन्नदातृसम: सो<पि कीर््यते नात्र संशय: । यदि कोई रास्तेके थके-माँदे, दुबले-पतले पथिक धूलभरे पैरोंसे भूखे-प्यासे आ जाया और पूछें कि क्या यहाँ कोई भोजन देनेवाला है? उस समय उन्हें जो विद्वान् अन्न मिलनेका पता बता देता है, वह भी अन्नदाताके समान ही कहा जाता है, इसमें संशय नहीं है
annadātṛ-samaḥ so ’pi kīryate nātra saṃśayaḥ |
Sinabi ni Mārkaṇḍeya: “Siya man ay pinupuri ring kapantay ng nagbibigay ng pagkain—walang alinlangan.” Sapagkat kapag may manlalakbay na pagod na pagod sa daan, payat at lupaypay, ang mga paa’y balot ng alikabok, gutom at uhaw, at magtanong, “Mayroon bang magbibigay ng pagkain dito?”—ang marunong na taong nagtuturo kung saan makakakuha ng pagkain ay itinuturing ding ‘annadātā’ (tagapagbigay ng pagkain).
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Helping the hungry is not limited to physically giving food; even guiding a needy traveler to a source of food is ethically equivalent to feeding him, and is praised as the merit of an annadātā.
Mārkaṇḍeya is explaining a principle of dharma: in a situation where a hungry, thirsty traveler seeks help, the person who provides reliable direction to obtain food is honored as though he himself had given food.