Shloka 39

Pānīya-dāna and Anna-dāna: The Primacy of Life-Sustaining Gifts (पानीयदान-प्रशंसा / अन्नदान-प्रशंसा)

Devanagari script

ततः सस्यानि रोहन्ति येन वर्तयते जगत्‌ | मांसमेदो<5स्थिशुक्राणां प्रादुर्भावस्तत: पुन:

Transliteration

tataḥ sasyāni rohanti yena vartayate jagat | māṁsa-medo'sthi-śukrāṇāṁ prādurbhāvas tataḥ punaḥ ||

Translation

于是五谷萌生；凭此产出，世间得以维系。由此食物复又在众生之身中显现为肉、脂、骨与精液——昭示形体之生，系于一条因缘之链：始于湿润肥沃之地，终于滋养之食。

Word by Word

• ततः: therefrom/then
• ततः: Apadana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय

• सस्यानि: crops/grains
• सस्यानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सस्य
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• रोहन्ति: grow/sprout
• Type: Verb
• Root: रुह्
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• येन: by which
• येन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• वर्तयते: is sustained/continues (is made to go on)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत् (णिच्) → वर्तय्
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• जगत्: the world
• जगत्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत्
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• मांस: of flesh
• Type: Noun
• Root: मांस
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (समाहार-षष्ठी)

• मेदः: of fat
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेदस्
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (समाहार-षष्ठी)

• अस्थि: of bone
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्थि
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (समाहार-षष्ठी)

• शुक्राणाम्: of semen/vital fluid
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुक्र
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• प्रादुर्भावः: manifestation/origination
• प्रादुर्भावः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रादुर्भाव
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ततः: therefrom
• ततः: Apadana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय

• पुनः: again/further
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः
• Form: अव्यय

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• jagat (the world/living beings)
• sasyāni (crops/grain)
• māṁsa
• medas
• asthi
• śukra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches a chain of dependence: crops arise (from the earth and its moisture), the world is sustained by that food, and bodily constituents like flesh, fat, bone, and generative essence arise from nourishment—highlighting responsibility toward the sources of food and life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada explains how life is maintained through food: grain grows, beings live by it, and the body’s tissues and reproductive vitality are produced from it, reinforcing a moral reflection on sustenance and the conditions that support living beings.