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=== अनन्नदानम् ॥ Anannadana ===

=== अनन्नदानम् ॥ Anannadana ===

Srikrishna's advice to Yudhisthira to give food and to keep giving, appears at the beginning of the discourse on annadanamahatmya, the greatness of giving food, in the Bhavisyapurana.<blockquote>अनन्नदानस्य फलं त्वयेदमुपभुज्यते । तर्ह्यन्नदानतो नान्यच्छरीरारोग्यकारकम् ।। (Bhav. Pura. 4.169.22)<br>नान्यदन्नादृते पुंसां किञ्चित्सञ्जीवनौषधम् । महीं गत्वा महाराज कुरुष्व वचनं मम ।। (Bhav. Pura. 4.169.23)</blockquote>O Sveta, you are reaping the fruit of anannadana, of not having performed annadana. Except for annadana there is nothing that can keep the body healthy. And except for anna, there is no other sanjivanaushadha— life restoring medicine — amongst men.

Srikrishna's advice to Yudhisthira to give food and to keep giving, appears at the beginning of the discourse on annadanamahatmya, the greatness of giving food, in the Bhavisyapurana.<blockquote>अनन्नदानस्य फलं त्वयेदमुपभुज्यते । तर्ह्यन्नदानतो नान्यच्छरीरारोग्यकारकम् ।। (Bhav. Pura. 4.169.22)<ref>Bhavishya Purana ([https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AD%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A3%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8D_/%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5_%E0%A5%AA_(%E0%A4%89%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5)/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83_%E0%A5%A7%E0%A5%AC%E0%A5%AF Parva 4 Adhyaya 169])</ref><br>नान्यदन्नादृते पुंसां किञ्चित्सञ्जीवनौषधम् । महीं गत्वा महाराज कुरुष्व वचनं मम ।। (Bhav. Pura. 4.169.23)</blockquote>O Sveta, you are reaping the fruit of anannadana, of not having performed annadana. Except for annadana there is nothing that can keep the body healthy. And except for anna, there is no other sanjivanaushadha— life restoring medicine — amongst men.

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. After satiating him, Sveta offered sage Agastya an iridescent necklace in daksina, as a token of gratitude for having accepted his worshipful offering of food. That same flamingly iridescent necklace of Sveta was given by sage Agastya to Srirama, when the latter visited him at his asrama.<ref name=":0">Bajaj, Jitendra and Mandayam, Srinivas. (1996) ''Annam Bahu Kurvita.'' Madras: Centre for Policy Studies Madras</ref>

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. After satiating him, Sveta offered sage Agastya an iridescent necklace in daksina, as a token of gratitude for having accepted his worshipful offering of food. That same flamingly iridescent necklace of Sveta was given by sage Agastya to Srirama, when the latter visited him at his asrama.<ref name=":0">Bajaj, Jitendra and Mandayam, Srinivas. (1996) ''Annam Bahu Kurvita.'' Madras: Centre for Policy Studies Madras</ref>

"I entered that lonely and quiet forest in search of a place to perform tapas —high austerities. The grandeur of that forest was beyond description. There was a lake that was a wonder to behold. Its water tasted like none other. A drink from it left one greatly refreshed.

"I entered that lonely and quiet forest in search of a place to perform tapas —high austerities. The grandeur of that forest was beyond description. There was a lake that was a wonder to behold. Its water tasted like none other. A drink from it left one greatly refreshed.

"In the vicinity of a serene lake of clean pure water swarming with birds of rare grace, there was an ancient asrama. The asrama in its grandeur rivaled the lake: it was big, it was a place of great piety, it was a wonder to behold. And there was nobody inhabiting it.

"In the vicinity of a serene lake of clean pure water swarming with birds of rare grace, there was an ancient asrama. The asrama in its grandeur rivaled the lake: it was big, it was a place of great piety, it was a wonder to behold. And there was nobody inhabiting it.<blockquote>प्रभाते काल्यमुत्थाय सरस्तदुपचक्रमे । अथापश्यं शवं तत्र सुपुष्टमजरं क्वचित् ।। ७.७७.८ ।।</blockquote>"O Srirama, the best amongst men, I spent that summer night in that asrama, and getting up early in the morning began to prepare for a bath, on the banks of the lake. Suddenly, I saw a dead body floating on the waters. It was a well-formed and well-nourished body. It was clean and fresh. It showed no signs of decay. And, it was lying on the waters irradiating great splendour.

"I was baffled by the sight of that body. Wondering about it, I sat on the banks of the lake for a while. And soon I saw a celestial chariot descending there. On that celestial chariot there sat a man from the heavens. He was surrounded by thousands of apsaras who were all adorned with celestial ornaments. Some of them were singing, some were playing on various musical instruments, while others were dancing. <blockquote>पश्यतो मे तदा राम विमानादवरुह्य च । तं शवं भक्षयामास स स्वर्गी रघुनन्दन ।। ७.७७.१५ ।।</blockquote>"And then, what do I see, O Srirama, the delight of Raghukula! Like the sun, the god of light, descending from the peaks of the Meru mountains, that man from the heavens got down from his celestial chariot, and he, in front of my very eyes, began to eat the flesh of the dead body floating on the lake. After taking his fill of the well-nourished and plentiful flesh of that body, he entered the lake and began to wash.

 

"I was baffled by the sight of that body. Wondering about it, I sat on the banks of the lake for a while. And soon I saw a celestial chariot descending there. On that celestial chariot there sat a man from the heavens. He was surrounded by thousands of apsaras who were all adorned with celestial ornaments. Some of them were singing, some were playing on various musical instruments, while others were dancing.  

 

"And then, what do I see, O Srirama, the delight of Raghukula! Like the sun, the god of light, descending from the peaks of the Meru mountains, that man from the heavens got down from his celestial chariot, and he, in front of my very eyes, began to eat the flesh of the dead body floating on the lake. After taking his fill of the well-nourished and plentiful flesh of that body, he entered the lake and began to wash.

=== King Sveta's Story ===

=== King Sveta's Story ===