Shloka 8

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

Devanagari script

अन्नाद्‌ गृहस्था लोकेउस्मिन्‌ भिक्षवस्तापसास्तथा । अन्नाद्‌ भवन्ति वै प्राणा: प्रत्यक्ष नात्र संशय:

Transliteration

annād gṛhasthā loke 'smin bhikṣavas tāpasās tathā | annād bhavanti vai prāṇāḥ pratyakṣaṃ nātra saṃśayaḥ ||

Translation

那罗陀说道：“在此世间，居家者、依乞食而生的行者，以及苦行者，皆由食物所养。确实，连生命之息本身也依赖食物；此事人人亲见，无可置疑。”

Word by Word

• अन्नात्: from food; due to food
• अन्नात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्न
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• गृहस्थाः: householders
• गृहस्थाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृहस्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• भिक्षवः: mendicants; beggars
• भिक्षवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भिक्षु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तापसाः: ascetics
• तापसाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तापस
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तथा: also; likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• अन्नात्: from food; due to food
• अन्नात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्न
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• भवन्ति: arise; come to be; exist
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• प्राणाः: vital breaths; lives
• प्राणाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रत्यक्षम्: directly; as a matter of direct perception
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रत्यक्ष

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

• अत्र: here; in this matter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Narada
• food (anna)
• householders (gṛhastha)
• mendicants (bhikṣu/bhikṣava)
• ascetics (tāpasa)
• life-breath (prāṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Food is the visible support of life for every social and spiritual group—householders, mendicants, and ascetics—so providing food (anna-dāna) is a primary ethical duty and a cornerstone of dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is instructing by emphasizing a universally observable fact: all beings and all āśramas depend on food. The statement functions as a moral argument for honoring food and supporting others through nourishment.