Shloka 30
Pānīya-dāna and Anna-dāna: The Primacy of Life-Sustaining Gifts (पानीयदान-प्रशंसा / अन्नदान-प्रशंसा)
अन्नाद्धि प्रसव यान्ति रतिरन्नाद्धि भारत । धर्मार्थावन्नतो विद्धि रोगनाशं तथान्नत:
annād dhi prasavaṃ yānti ratir annād dhi bhārata | dharmārthāv annato viddhi roganāśaṃ tathā annataḥ ||
نارد نے کہا— اے بھارت! غذا ہی سے اولاد کی پیدائش ہوتی ہے؛ غذا ہی سے وصل کی تکمیل ہوتی ہے۔ جان لو کہ دھرم اور ارتھ کی تکمیل بھی غذا ہی سے ہے؛ اور اسی غذا سے بیماریوں کا بھی نِدھان ہوتا ہے۔
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Food (anna) is presented as the foundational support of human life: it enables procreation and marital pleasure, sustains the pursuit of dharma and artha, and promotes health by removing disease. The ethical implication is that ensuring nourishment is a primary duty and a basis for righteous living.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused discourse, Nārada addresses Yudhiṣṭhira (as “Bhārata”), emphasizing the practical and moral centrality of food as the root condition for family continuity, social order, prosperity, and bodily well-being.