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== अनन्नदानं गृहस्थधर्मः ॥ Annadana is Grihasthadharma ==
== अनन्नदानं गृहस्थधर्मः ॥ Annadana is Grihasthadharma ==
To answer the question of who should perform annadana, the texts have laid down many principles to grihasthas regarding the offering to food to devatas, men and other bhutas (animals, birds, insects). Though annadana has to be performed by everyone based on their capacity, it is a must as part of Bhutayajna which is one of the Panchamahayajnas to be performed everyday prescribed in ancient grhyasutras.
To answer the question of who should perform annadana, the texts have laid down many principles to grihasthas regarding the offering to food to devatas, men and other bhutas (animals, birds, insects). Though annadana has to be performed by everyone based on their capacity, it is the responsibility of the grhastha to provide for the sustenance of the daily routine of life around him, which is celebrated in the Indian classical texts as the [[Panchamahayajnas (पञ्चमहायज्ञाः)|Panchamahayajna]].
Panchamahayajna is such an important observance for the Indians that references to it are found in all Indian literature: in the timeless vedas, the ancient itihasas and puranas, and in the smrtis and dharmasastras of all ages.<ref name=":0" />
=== वैश्वेदेवम् ॥ Vaisvadeva ===
=== वैश्वेदेवम् ॥ Vaisvadeva ===
=== बलिहरण ॥ Baliharana or Bhutayajna ===
=== बलिहरण ॥ Baliharana or Bhutayajna ===
In Bhutayajna, bali is to be offered not into fire but on the ground, which is to be wiped and cooked food is placed on it. These directions to give food even to outcasts, dogs and birds were the outcome of the noble sentiment of universal kindliness and charity, the idea that One Spirit pervades and illumines the even the meanest of creatures and binds all together. Sankhayana Grhyasutras (2.14) winds up its vaisvadeva section with this fine exhortation : <blockquote>भोजयेच्छ्वभ्यः श्वपचेभ्यश्च वयोभ्यश्चावपेद्भूमाविति नानवत्तमश्नीयान्नैको न पूर्वं । तदप्येतदृचोक्तं मोघमन्नं विन्दते अप्रचेता इति २६ (2.14.25 -26)<ref>Shankhayana [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%99%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%96%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D Grhyasutras]</ref></blockquote>Let him throw food to dogs, to svapachas (eaters of dog-flesh), to birds on the ground; let him eat nothing without having cut off a portion (to be offered as a bali); let him not eat alone, nor before others (relatives and guests) since the Rig Veda mantra says "the fool gets food in vain" <blockquote>मोघमन्नं विन्दते अप्रचेताः सत्यं ब्रवीमि वध इत्स तस्य ।<br>नार्यमणं पुष्यति नो सखायं केवलाघो भवति केवलादी ॥६॥ (Rig Veda. 10.117.6)<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>The same idea is reverberated in Shrimad Bhagavadgita (3.13), Manusmriti (3.118) and Vishnu Dharmasutras (67.43).<ref name=":12" />
In Bhutayajna, bali is to be offered not into fire but on the ground, which is to be wiped and cooked food is placed on it. These directions to give food even to outcasts, dogs and birds were the outcome of the noble sentiment of universal kindliness and charity, the idea that One Spirit pervades and illumines the even the meanest of creatures and binds all together. Sankhayana Grhyasutras (2.14) winds up its vaisvadeva section with this fine exhortation :<ref name=":12" /> <blockquote>भोजयेच्छ्वभ्यः श्वपचेभ्यश्च वयोभ्यश्चावपेद्भूमाविति नानवत्तमश्नीयान्नैको न पूर्वं । तदप्येतदृचोक्तं मोघमन्नं विन्दते अप्रचेता इति २६ (2.14.25 -26)<ref>Shankhayana [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%99%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%96%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%97%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%B9%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D Grhyasutras]</ref></blockquote>Let him throw food to dogs, to svapachas (eaters of dog-flesh), to birds on the ground; let him eat nothing without having cut off a portion (to be offered as a bali); let him not eat alone, nor before others (relatives and guests) since the Rig Veda mantra says "the fool gets food in vain" <blockquote>मोघमन्नं विन्दते अप्रचेताः सत्यं ब्रवीमि वध इत्स तस्य ।<br>नार्यमणं पुष्यति नो सखायं केवलाघो भवति केवलादी ॥६॥ (Rig Veda. 10.117.6)<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>The same idea is reverberated in Shrimad Bhagavadgita (3.13), Manusmriti (3.118) and Vishnu Dharmasutras (67.43).<ref name=":12" />
=== मनुष्ययज्ञः ॥ Manushyayajna (Atithi and Abhyagata) ===
=== मनुष्ययज्ञः ॥ Manushyayajna (Atithi and Abhyagata) ===
The coming of an unknown, uninvited and unexpected atithi in the evening, Manu says, is like a fortune fetched to the householder's door by the setting sun himself. Such an atithi should be cared for with the greatest reverence. As Manusmrti puts it:<blockquote>अप्रणोद्योऽतिथिः सायं सूर्योढो गृहमेधिना । काले प्राप्तस्त्वकाले वा नास्यानश्नन्गृहे वसेत् । । ३.१०५ (Manu. Smri. 3.105)</blockquote>A guest who comes in the evening is brought to the householder's house by the sun himself. He should never be turned away. And, he should never be made to stay hungry in the house, whether he comes at the proper or the improper time.
The coming of an unknown, uninvited and unexpected atithi in the evening, Manu says, is like a fortune fetched to the householder's door by the setting sun himself. Such an atithi should be cared for with the greatest reverence. As Manusmrti puts it:<blockquote>अप्रणोद्योऽतिथिः सायं सूर्योढो गृहमेधिना । काले प्राप्तस्त्वकाले वा नास्यानश्नन्गृहे वसेत् । । ३.१०५ (Manu. Smri. 3.105)</blockquote>A guest who comes in the evening is brought to the householder's house by the sun himself. He should never be turned away. And, he should never be made to stay hungry in the house, whether he comes at the proper or the improper time.
Visnupurana says that the sin of turning away a guest arriving after sunset is eight times worse than that earned by turning away a guest during the day.
Visnupurana says that the sin of turning away a guest arriving after sunset is eight times worse than that earned by turning away a guest during the day.<ref name=":0" />
=== राजधर्मः ॥ Rajadharma ===
=== राजधर्मः ॥ Rajadharma ===
The king is a great grihastha, who is charged with extraordinary grihastha responsibilities. Like a grihastha he has the responsibility to provide for the sustenance of all beings, especially the humans, who happen to be in his care. But, unlike an ordinary grihastha, he also has the responsibility to provide sustenance to those who, though not his direct dependents, happen to lack sustenance in society. The whole of the land is, in a way, part of his grihastha responsibility. The king being essentially a great grihastha, he shares as it were in the sin of all grihasthas who eat without having first fed the hungry. Thus says Bhishma, to Yudhisthira in the Shantiparva or राजधर्मानुशासनपर्व<blockquote>अभृतानां भवेद्भर्ता भृतानामन्ववेक्षकः। (Maha. Shan. 12.57.19)</blockquote>Be the provider of the unprovided. And carefully look after those who happen to be in your care.<ref name=":0" />
The king is a great grihastha, who is charged with extraordinary grihastha responsibilities. Like a grihastha he has the responsibility to provide for the sustenance of all beings, especially the humans, who happen to be in his care. But, unlike an ordinary grihastha, he also has the responsibility to provide sustenance to those who, though not his direct dependents, happen to lack sustenance in society. The whole of the land is, in a way, part of his grihastha responsibility.
Apastambadharmasutra (Patala 9), in fact, begins its discussion on rajadharma with what reads like a prescription for the installation of the king as a great grhastha.<blockquote>सर्वेष्वेवाजस्रा अग्नयः स्युः ६ अग्निपूजा च नित्या यथा गृहमेधे ७ आवसथे श्रोत्रियावरार्ध्यानतिथीन्वासयेत् ८ तेषां यथागुणमावसथाः शय्यान्नपानं च विदेयम् ९ (Apas. Dhar. 9.25.6 - 9)<ref>Apastamba [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%86%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AC-%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D Dharmasutras]</ref></blockquote>Let the agni, the household-fire, burn unceasingly at all places: the vesma, the avasatha and the sabha. To all the three agnis, offer reverential worship everyday, in the manner prescribed for a grhastha. In the avasatha offer hospitality to all atithis, all those who come, beginning with the srotriyas, the ones who are well read in the vedas. To them, the atithis in the avasatha, offer proper room, bed and food, and let the offerings be appropriate to the accomplishments of each.<ref name=":0" />
The king being essentially a great grihastha, he shares as it were in the sin of all grihasthas who eat without having first fed the hungry. Thus says Bhishma, to Yudhisthira in the Shantiparva or राजधर्मानुशासनपर्व<blockquote>अभृतानां भवेद्भर्ता भृतानामन्ववेक्षकः। (Maha. Shan. 12.57.19)</blockquote>Be the provider of the unprovided. And carefully look after those who happen to be in your care.<ref name=":0" />
The Mahabharata, Vanaparva documents when Yudhisthira is seen feeling sorry about the loss of his kingdom. And the loss he laments is not of the power and prestige of kingship, but of the resources necessary for looking after others. He shares his grief with Rishi Saunaka that bound by the discipline of grihastha ashrama, he should fail to provide for even his followers. Then he goes on to define the duties of the king as a grihastha:<blockquote>संविभागो हि भूतानां सर्वेषामेव दृश्यते। तथैवापचमानेभ्यः प्रदेयं गृहमेधिना॥ (Maha. Vana. 3.2.52)</blockquote>There is a share of all bhutas, all beings, in everything. It is seen everywhere. Therefore, a grihastha must give a proper share of food to all those who do not cook for themselves. To the sick a bed to lie down, to the tired a place to sit, to the thirsty water to drink, and to the hungry a proper meal, must always be given. Yudhisthira's insistence on acquiring the means to provide proper share of food and sustenance to his followers is so intense that there seems no way he would leave it unfulfilled. He keeps worrying about the problem, and finally his kulapurohita, the family priest, Dhaumya, advises him to seek the blessings of the sun who, by virtue of his action of gathering and then raining water over the earth, happens to be the creator of all anna, all food:
Yudhisthira accepts Dhaumya's advice and propitiates the sun, who then offers him an aksayapatra, a pot that will provide him unending quantities of food for twelve years. The pot, blessed by the sun, would fill everyday and would exhaust for the day only after DraupadI and Yudhisthira, having fed all their guests and dependents, partake of the food themselves.
It is only after obtaining the aksayapatra, and thus the ability to look after those who are under his care and those who come seeking his hospitality, that Yudhisthira settles down to the life of an exile.
== अनन्नदानस्य फलम् ॥ Consequence of Anannadana ==
== अनन्नदानस्य फलम् ॥ Consequence of Anannadana ==
The story of King Sveta, depicts the the terrible sin of eating with one's doors shut upon others; of having one's fill, while men, animals and birds around remain un-fed; and of enjoying a meal while young children watch with hungry eyes. The great and righteous king Sveta sitting all alone on the banks of a beauteous lake in the midst of a rich forest full of delicious roots and fruit, and eating the flesh of his own corporeal body, represents the culmination of such eating without sharing.
The story of King Sveta, depicts the the terrible sin of eating with one's doors shut upon others; of having one's fill, while men, animals and birds around remain un-fed; and of enjoying a meal while young children watch with hungry eyes. The great and righteous king Sveta sitting all alone on the banks of a beauteous lake in the midst of a rich forest full of delicious roots and fruit, and eating the flesh of his own corporeal body, represents the culmination of such eating without sharing.
The fate that befalls Sveta is thus the fruit of his conduct. This attitude is enshrined in the most basic of Indian texts. Thus, the Taittriyopanishad advises in its resounding verses:<blockquote>न कञ्चन वसतौ प्रत्याचक्षीत । तद्व्रतम् । तस्माद्यया कया च विधया बह्वन्नं प्राप्नुयात् । अराध्यस्मा अन्नमित्याचक्षते । ... । एदद्वा अन्ततोऽन्नँराद्धम् । अन्ततोऽस्मा अन्नँराध्यते ॥ १ ॥(Tait. Upan. Bhru. 10.1) <ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Do not send away anyone who comes to your door, without offering him food and hospitality. That is the inviolable discipline of mankind;
The fate that befalls Sveta is thus the fruit of his conduct. This attitude is enshrined in the most basic of Indian texts. Thus, the Taittriyopanishad advises in its resounding verses:<blockquote>न कञ्चन वसतौ प्रत्याचक्षीत । तद्व्रतम् । तस्माद्यया कया च विधया बह्वन्नं प्राप्नुयात् । अराध्यस्मा अन्नमित्याचक्षते । ... । एदद्वा अन्ततोऽन्नँराद्धम् । अन्ततोऽस्मा अन्नँराध्यते ॥ १ ॥(Tait. Upan. Bhru. 10.1) <ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Do not send away anyone who comes to your door, without offering him food and hospitality. That is the inviolable discipline of mankind; and the one, who prepares and gives food in a small measure with low care and veneration, obtains food in the same small measure and with similar abjectness.
Therefore, have a great abundance of food, and exert all your efforts towards ensuring such abundance; and announce to the world that this abundance of food is ready, to be partaken of by all.
Therefore, have a great abundance of food, and exert all your efforts towards ensuring such abundance; and announce to the world that this abundance of food is ready, to be partaken of by all.
== अन्नदानमाहात्म्यम् || Annadana Mahatmya ==
== अन्नदानमाहात्म्यम् || Annadana Mahatmya ==
=== Mahabharata ===
=== Mahabharata ===
Mahabharata extols, in Asvamedhika Parva<blockquote>यस्मादन्नात्प्रवर्तन्ते धर्मार्थौ काम एव च। तस्मादन्नात्परं दानं नामुत्रेह च पाण्डव।। (Maha. Asva. 14.101.28)</blockquote>
Mahabharata extols, in Asvamedhika Parva<blockquote>यस्मादन्नात्प्रवर्तन्ते धर्मार्थौ काम एव च। तस्मादन्नात्परं दानं नामुत्रेह च पाण्डव।। (Maha. Asva. 14.101.28)</blockquote>From anna
In the Mahabharata, Bhishma describing the greatness of annadana and jaladana to Yudhisthira, says<blockquote>न तस्मात्परमं दानं किञ्चिदस्तीति मे मनः। अन्नात्प्राणभृतस्तात प्रवर्ध[र्त]न्ते हि सर्वशः॥ (Maha. Anush. 13.67.5)</blockquote><blockquote>तस्मादन्नं परं लोके सर्वलोकेषु कथ्यते। अन्नाद्बलं च तेजश्च प्राणिनां वर्धते सदा॥ (Maha. Anush. 13.67.6)</blockquote>Meaning : I believe there is no dana greater than the dana of food and water, because all beings are indeed born of anna, and from anna alone they obtain sustenance for living. That is why anna is said to be highest in this world. The bala (strength) and tejas (vitality) of all living beings always depends upon anna.<ref name=":0" />
In the Mahabharata, Bhishma describing the greatness of annadana and jaladana to Yudhisthira, says<blockquote>न तस्मात्परमं दानं किञ्चिदस्तीति मे मनः। अन्नात्प्राणभृतस्तात प्रवर्ध[र्त]न्ते हि सर्वशः॥ (Maha. Anush. 13.67.5)</blockquote><blockquote>तस्मादन्नं परं लोके सर्वलोकेषु कथ्यते। अन्नाद्बलं च तेजश्च प्राणिनां वर्धते सदा॥ (Maha. Anush. 13.67.6)</blockquote>Meaning : I believe there is no dana greater than the dana of food and water, because all beings are indeed born of anna, and from anna alone they obtain sustenance for living. That is why anna is said to be highest in this world. The bala (strength) and tejas (vitality) of all living beings always depends upon anna.<ref name=":0" />