Shloka 11
अन्नदान-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Gift of Food) | Annadāna-Praśaṃsā
कृशाय कृतविद्याय वृत्तिक्षीणाय सीदते | अपहन्यात् क्षुधां यस्तु न तेन पुरुष: सम:
kṛśāya kṛtavidyāya vṛttikṣīṇāya sīdate | apahanyāt kṣudhāṃ yas tu na tena puruṣaḥ samaḥ ||
بھیشم نے کہا—جو شخص عالم ہو کر بھی روزی کم ہو جانے سے لاغر، درماندہ اور رنج میں ڈوبا ہو، اس کی بھوک جو مٹا دے—اس کے برابر کوئی صاحبِ ثواب نہیں۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Feeding and sustaining a distressed person—especially one who is learned yet impoverished—is presented as an unsurpassed act of merit; removing hunger is among the highest forms of dharmic charity.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he praises the ethical greatness of one who relieves hunger in a suffering, livelihood-deprived person, elevating practical compassion above other claims to virtue.