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== अनन्नदानस्य फलम् ॥ Consequence of Anannadana ==
== अनन्नदानस्य फलम् ॥ Consequence of Anannadana ==
The danaviras, the ones who give food and water to others, attain the best of lokas after their death and achieve great glory. They also live a long life and obtain great wealth in this world. While many texts extol the greatness of annadana, the consequences of consciously not doing so (anannadana) is explicitly described in Bhavishyapurana.
The danaviras, the ones who give food and water to others, attain the best of lokas after their death and achieve great glory. They also live a long life and obtain great wealth in this world. While many texts extol the greatness of annadana, the consequences of consciously not doing so (anannadana) is explicitly described in many texts such as Bhavishyapurana, Varaha Purana, and in later day texts such as Chaturvarga Chintamani of Hemadri.
The Bhavishyapurana recounts the conversation between Srikrishna and Yudhisthira at the culmination of Asvamedha yajna after the war, in Mahabharata.<blockquote>ददस्वान्नं ददस्वान्नं ददस्वान्नं युधिष्ठिर ।। (Bhav. Pura. 4.169.2)</blockquote>"Give food! Give food! Give food! oh Yudhisthira". Thus spake Srikrishna to Yudhisthira, while advising him on annadana, the discipline of giving, in the Bhavishyapurana. Parva 4 (Uttaraparva) adhyaya 169 is dedicated to अन्नदानमाहात्म्यवर्णनम् ।
The Bhavishyapurana recounts the conversation between Srikrishna and Yudhisthira at the culmination of Asvamedha yajna after the war, in Mahabharata.<blockquote>ददस्वान्नं ददस्वान्नं ददस्वान्नं युधिष्ठिर ।। (Bhav. Pura. 4.169.2)</blockquote>"Give food! Give food! Give food! oh Yudhisthira". Thus spake Srikrishna to Yudhisthira, while advising him on annadana, the discipline of giving, in the Bhavishyapurana. Parva 4 (Uttaraparva) adhyaya 169 is dedicated to अन्नदानमाहात्म्यवर्णनम् ।
Recalling the Anannadana experience of Srirama, Srikrishna begins to tell the consequences of [[King Sveta and Anannadana (अनन्नदानम्)|Anannadana by King Sveta]], the king who lived a life of dharma and who was generous with his giving at the proper occasion, but who gave no food to any seeker and therefore had to suffer the pangs of hunger even in the heavens that he had earned by his otherwise righteous conduct. King Sveta was finally relieved of his terrible fate by sage Agastya, who accepted food from his hands and thus freed him of the taint of anannadana.<ref name=":0" />
Recalling the Anannadana experience of Srirama, Srikrishna begins to tell the consequences of [[King Sveta and Anannadana (अनन्नदानम्)|Anannadana by King Sveta]], the king who lived a life of dharma and who was generous with his giving at the proper occasion, but who gave no food to any seeker and therefore had to suffer the pangs of hunger even in the heavens that he had earned by his otherwise righteous conduct. King Sveta was finally relieved of his terrible fate by sage Agastya, who accepted food from his hands and thus freed him of the taint of anannadana.<ref name=":0" />
== Annadana is Sadavrata ==
The story of King Sveta also appears in the Varahapurana, where it is told by Sri Varaha to Dharani or Bhudevi, when she asks to be instructed about the vrata or sacred observance for earthly men. Sri Varaha says that long ago a similar request was made by king Sveta to Vashistha maharshi, to which the reply was
अन्नं देहि सदा राजन् सर्वकालसुखावहम् ।। अन्नेन चैव दत्तेन किं न दत्तं महीतले ।।99.६०।।
सर्वेषामेव दानानामन्नदानं विशिष्यते ।। अन्नाद्भवंति भूतानि अन्नेनैव च वर्द्धते ।।६१।।<ref>Varaha Purana ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B9%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A3%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83_%E0%A5%A6%E0%A5%AF%E0%A5%AF Adhyaya 99])</ref>
O King ! give food. Giving good ensures well-being at all times. One who gives food gives all that is worth giving on the surface of the earth. Having given food, nothing remains un-given.<ref name=":0" />
However, King Sveta, unimpressed by Vashistha maharshi's advice, thought that food was too insignificant an object to be worthy of giving from the hands of a great king like him. The rest of the story follows as given in [[King Sveta and Anannadana (अनन्नदानम्)|King Sveta and Anannnadana]].
Hemadri in Chaturvarga Chintamani, Vratakanda, describes the importance of Annadana and recounts the story of King Sveta. While attributing his section on annadanamahatmya to the Bhavisyapurana, Hemadri adds that annadana is sadavrata. Concluding the section, he says:
iti snbhavisyottare sadavratarh namannaddnamdhatmyam.8
Literally, sadavrata implies a vrata, an observance, that is performed at all times. And from the context in which Hemadri uses this term, it obviously implies that while the various fasts and observances described in the rest of the vratakhanda are all undertaken at particular times — at particular seasons, particular days and particular conjunctions of the celestial objects — the vrata of annadana is not subject to the considerations of time. It is to be undertaken always, at all times. Annadana is sadavrata, while all others are naimittikavratas, vratas of specified times and occasions.
Sadavrata, incidentally, is the name that Indians across the country prefer to use for annadana even today.
== अन्नदानमाहात्म्यम् || Annadana Mahatmya ==
== अन्नदानमाहात्म्यम् || Annadana Mahatmya ==