Shloka 20
अन्नदान-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Gift of Food) | Annadāna-Praśaṃsā
एष ते विततो यज्ञ: श्रद्धापूत: सदक्षिण: । विशिष्ट: सर्वयज्ञेभ्यो ददतस्तात वर्तताम्
eṣa te vitato yajñaḥ śraddhāpūtaḥ sadakṣiṇaḥ | viśiṣṭaḥ sarvayajñebhyo dadatastāta vartatām ||
بھیشم نے کہا—اے تات! تیرا یہ وسیع دان-یَجْن شردھا سے پاکیزہ اور واجب دکشنا سے آراستہ ہے۔ یہ سب یَجْنوں سے برتر ہے۔ اے عزیز! تو دیتا رہے؛ تیرا یہ یَجْن ہمیشہ جاری و ساری رہے۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that generous giving, when performed with śraddhā (sincere faith) and accompanied by proper dakṣiṇā (appropriate gifts to the deserving), becomes a superior form of yajña—an ongoing ethical sacrifice that can surpass ritual offerings.
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma praises the listener’s practice of charitable giving as a vast, faith-purified sacrifice and blesses it to continue unceasingly.