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Line 174: − + − Greatness of Food and the Giving of Food − − dadasvannam dadasvannam dadasvannam yudhisthira − − "Give food! Give food! Give food!" Thus spake Srikrsna to Yudhisthira, − while advising him on dana, the discipline of giving, in the − Bhavisyapurana.1 − − The Bhavisyapurana is probably recounting the conversation − that takes place in the Mahabharata between Srikrsna and Yudhisthira − at the culmination of the asvamedhayajha undertaken by the − latter after the victory in the war. Before the yajha, Yudhisthira − along with his brothers, and in the presence of Srikrsna, sits at the − feet of Bhlsma lying on his bed of arrows, and at his request, the − grand old man instructs the freshly anointed king of Hastinapura − on all aspects of dharma. BhTsma's instructions run to about 25,000 − verses, constituting almost a quarter of the epic, and comprising − two major parvans, the santiparvan and anusasanaparvan of the − Mahabharata. It is at the end of this great instruction that Bhlsma − leaves his mortal body, and Krsnadvaipayanavyasa and Srikrsna advise − the grief-stricken Yudhisthira to undertake asvamedha, the − yajna of the great kings. − − After performing the asvamedha, and being relieved of the great − effort and activity that such a yajna involves, Yudhisthira wants to − be instructed by Snkrsna himself on the intricacies of dharma. − Srlkrsna's instructions run through another 1,300 verses, constituting − the vaisnavadharmaparvan in the southern reading of the − Mahabharata. − − ^havisya 4.169.2, p. 526 − − 1 − − GREATNESS OF FOOD AND THE GIVING OF FOOD − − Towards the end of this grand discourse on dharma, Yudhisthira asks Srlkrsna for the essence of the entire teaching of BhTsma: − bhismavdkyat sarabhutam vada dharmam suresvara? − − To which Srlkrsna replies: annena dhdryate sarvarh jagadetaccara- − caram... annadah pranado loke pranadah sarvado bhavet. tasmadannam − visesena datavyam bhutimicchata? "The world, both animate an − inanimate, is sustained by food... 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 make special − endeavour to give food." − − This is how Srlkrsna summarizes the monumental teachings of − BhTsma. It is not for nothing therefore that the Bhavisyapurana − renders the essence of dharma as conveyed by Srlkrsna in the − urgendy imperative command: dadasvdnnam dadasvdnnam dadasvdnnam − yudhisthira. −
no edit summary
basic article on [[Uma-Sankara Samvada (discussion) on Grhisthadharma]]
basic article on [[Uma-Sankara Samvada (discussion) on Grhisthadharma]]
basic article on [[dadasvannam yudhisthira
basic article on [[अन्नम बहु कुर्विता]]
basic article on [[The five great Yagyas of Grihasthas (Pancaiva mahayajnah)]]
basic article on [[The five great Yagyas of Grihasthas (Pancaiva mahayajnah)]]