Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
अन्नदातृसम: सो<पि कीर््यते नात्र संशय: । यदि कोई रास्तेके थके-माँदे, दुबले-पतले पथिक धूलभरे पैरोंसे भूखे-प्यासे आ जाया और पूछें कि क्या यहाँ कोई भोजन देनेवाला है? उस समय उन्हें जो विद्वान् अन्न मिलनेका पता बता देता है, वह भी अन्नदाताके समान ही कहा जाता है, इसमें संशय नहीं है
annadātṛ-samaḥ so ’pi kīryate nātra saṃśayaḥ |
马尔坎德耶说道:“他也当被称颂为与施食者等同——毫无疑问。”因为当有旅人行路困乏、形容枯槁,双足沾满尘土,饥渴而来,问道:“此处可有施食之人?”——那位有学识者若指引他去能得食物之处,也同样被视为“安那达塔”(施食者)。
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Helping the hungry is not limited to physically giving food; even guiding a needy traveler to a source of food is ethically equivalent to feeding him, and is praised as the merit of an annadātā.
Mārkaṇḍeya is explaining a principle of dharma: in a situation where a hungry, thirsty traveler seeks help, the person who provides reliable direction to obtain food is honored as though he himself had given food.