Shloka 37

अन्नदान-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Gift of Food) | Annadāna-Praśaṃsā

Devanagari script

न मे पिता प्रियतरो न त्वं तात तथा प्रिय: । न मे पितु: पिता राजन्‌ न चात्मा न च जीवितम्‌

Transliteration

na me pitā priyataro na tvaṃ tāta tathā priyaḥ | na me pituḥ pitā rājan na cātmā na ca jīvitam ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“于我而言，无人比我父更可爱；而你亦然，亲爱的孩子，同样为我所珍重。然而，噢大王，莫说我父之父，便是我自身，乃至此生命，也不及我所奉持之义务更为可贵——故我不为私情而弃正道。”

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• मे: of me / my
• मे: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• पिता: father
• पिता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रियतरः: dearer
• प्रियतरः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रियतर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Nominative, Singular

• तात: dear father / dear one (voc.)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तात
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तथा: thus / so / equally
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• प्रियः: dear
• प्रियः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रिय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• मे: of me / my
• मे: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• पितुः: of (my) father
• पितुः: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पिता: father
• पिता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• आत्मा: self
• आत्मा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• जीवितम्: life
• जीवितम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जीवित
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• father of Bhishma
• grandfather (father's father)
• king (addressed as rājan)
• self (ātman)
• life (jīvitam)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma emphasizes that even the strongest human attachments—toward father, child, self, and life—must not override dharma; ethical duty is to be held higher than personal affection.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing the king in righteous conduct. Here he underscores the intensity of his affections while asserting that he will not let those bonds displace his commitment to what is right.