Shloka 11
Gopradāna-phalasaṃprāpti: Nāciketa’s Vision of Vaivasvata’s Realms (गोप्रदानफलसम्प्राप्तिः — नाचिकेतोपाख्यानम्)
तस्माद् विशिष्टां गच्छन्ति प्राणदा इति नःश्रुतम् । अन्न वापि प्रभवति पानीयात् कुरुसत्तम । नीरजातेन हि विना न किंचित् सम्प्रवर्तते
tasmād viśiṣṭāṁ gacchanti prāṇadā iti naḥ śrutam | annaṁ vāpi prabhavati pānīyāt kurusattama | nīrajātena hi vinā na kiñcit sampravartate kuruśreṣṭha |
毗湿摩说道：“因此，我们听闻：施与生命者将得非凡之境。然而，食物亦由水而生，噢，俱卢族中最卓越者。确然，若无由水所生之谷粮，万事皆不能运转，噢，俱卢族之最上者。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Life-giving acts are supremely meritorious, and among life-supporting gifts, water is foundational because even food depends on water; without water-born grain, worldly activity cannot continue.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and gifts, he explains why giving water (and thereby sustaining life and enabling food) is considered a particularly powerful form of merit leading to an excellent spiritual outcome.