Annadana (अन्नदानम्)

अन्नदान महात्म्या||Annadanamahtmya: the greatness of the giving of food

Srikrsna's exposition of the essence of Bhisma's teachings is presented in just 15 verses. The first ten of these lay down the centrality of annadana, the giving of food, in the life of a householder; and the next 5 celebrate the greatness of food, its emergence out of the vital essences of earth and its intimate connection with all life. Most of the vast classical Indian literature on annadana, some of which we shall have occasion to recall in the following, seems to be in the nature of an elaboration of these 15 verses. Teaching the greatness of annadana to Yudhisthira, SriKrsna says:

annena dhdryate sarvarh jagadetaccardcaram annat prabhavati pranah pratyaksam nasti samsayah (Maha asvamedhika 92, p. 6355 )

The world, both animate and inanimate, is sustained by food. Life arises from food: this is observed all around, and there can be no doubt about it.

kalatram pidayitvd tu dese kale ca saktitah ddtavyarh bhiksave cdnnamdtmano bhutimicchata

Therefore, one who wishes to attain well-being in this world and beyond should offer food to all who seek. One should give food in accordance with time and place, and should keep giving to the limits of one's capacity, even if it were to cause inconvenience to one's own family.

vipramadhvaparisrantam balarh vrddhamathapi vd arcayed guruvat prito grhastho grhamdgatam

Finding an old person, a child, a tired traveler or a venerable one at the door, a householder should offer him worshipful hospitality, with gladness in his heart, as he would to his own teacher.

krodhamutpatitam hitvd susilo vitamatsarah arcayedatithim pritah paratra hitabhutaye

Desirous of well-being beyond this world, the householder should purge himself of all anger, all jealousy, and offer worshipful hospitality, with grace and courtesy, to the one who appears at the door.

atithim ndvamanyeta ndnrtdm giramirayet na prcched gotracaranam nddhitarh vd kaddcana

Never offer slight to a person appearing at your door, never let a falsehood escape from your lips in his presence, and never ever ask him about his lineage or learning.

candalo va svapako vd kale yah kascidagatah annena pujaniyah sydt paratra hitamicchatd

The one who appears at the door at the proper time, even if he were an outcaste or such a one as partakes of the flesh of dog, deserves to be worshipped with the offering of food by him who seeks well-being beyond this world.

pidhdya tu grhadvaram bhunkte yo 'nnarh prahrstavan svargadvatapidhanam vai krtam tena yudhisthira

O Yudhisthira, the one who shuts his door on all comers and indulges in the enjoyment of food for himself alone is certainly ensuring that the doors of heaven shall be shut upon him.

pitfn devdnrsin viprdn atithimsca nirasrayan yo narah pnnayatyannaistasya punya phalam mahat

And his virtue is indeed great who propitiates with food the ancestors, the gods, the sages, the venerable ones, the destitute and all those who appear at his door.

krtvd tu pdpam bahuso yo dadyadannamarthine brdhmandya visesena sarvapdpaih pramucyate

The one who gives food to those who seek, and especially to the brahmana seekers, is rid of all sins, even if his sins were immense.

annadah pranado loke prdnadah sarvado bhavet tasmadannam visesena ddtavyam bhutimicchata

The giver of food is the giver of life, and indeed of everything else. Therefore, one who is desirous of well-being in this world and beyond should specially endeavour to give food.

annarh hyamrtamityahurannam prajananam smrtam annapranase sidanti safirepanca dhatavah Food is indeed the preserver of life and food is the source of procreation. When there is no food, the five elements constituting the body cease to be.

balam balavato nasyedannahinasya dehinah tasmadannam visesena sraddhayasraddhayapi va Without food even a strong man loses all his strength. Therefore food, whether taken in reverence or otherwise, has a special place in life.

5 Maha asvamedhika 92, pp. 6355-6

ddatte hi rasam sarvamddityah svagabhastibhih vdyustasmdt samddaya rasam meghesu dharayet tat tu meghagatam bhumau sakro varsati tadrsam tena digdhd bhaved devi mahiprita ca bharata The sun, through his rays, draws out the vital essences, and vayu, the wind god, gathers these and places them in the clouds. The vital essences thus collected in the clouds are showered back on the earth by indra. Suffused with the showers, e goddess earth, O Bharata, is verily in contentment.

tasyarh sasydni rohanti yairjivantyakhilah prajah mamsamedo 'sthimajjdndm sambhavastebhya eva hi

The next five verses define the pre-eminence of food in the creation;and sustenance of all life. Srikrsna says:5

Out of the contented earth grow the food-crops, which sustain all life. Flesh, fat, bone and marrow are formed of these alone. Thus in these fifteen verses Srikrsna says all that needs to be said t the importance of food and the giving of food. He defines the major precepts associated with annadana: the great and incomparable virtue associated with the giving of food, the imperative of offering food to others before eating for oneself, the imperative of giving food in worshipful humility towards the receiver, the imperative of giving to all those who come without ever enquiring into their antecedents, and the great sin that results from eating one's fill without first having fed others who may be waiting at the door. And Srikrsna goes on to teach about the central place that anna occupies in the Indian understanding of the plan of the universe. These precepts appear again and again in the Indian classical literature in different forms and different contexts.