O best of kings, listen with a pure heart to the supreme merit of giving. When a person gives with devotion, he ascends to the highest state, carrying with him forty generations of his lineage. Such a giver reaches the abode of Vishnu, a realm from which return is difficult indeed. Among all gifts, none has ever equaled, nor will ever equal, the offering of food and water, for in the act of feeding others lies the fruit of all other gifts combined. The scriptures declare that one who gives food does not return to the cycle of birth and death. The teachers of the Veda have proclaimed the giving of food as the highest virtue, and the lotus-born Brahma has said that the giver of water is freed from all bonds. Therefore, O lord of the earth, know the giver of food as the very giver of life itself. There is, truly, no gift that can compare to food. Such a giver is never seen by the messengers of Yama, the god of death; thus, the giver of food is revered above all. He is as if he has bathed in every sacred water, with the holy Ganges as the foremost. Indeed, bathing in the Ganges purifies one for over eight hundred lifetimes—there is no doubt about this. Surrounded by many generations of his family, he dwells in the splendid city of Vūhya for an age. For this giver, Lord Vishnu, with a gracious heart, fulfills all desires. All his wishes are granted, and he becomes wholly free from all sins. The Lord of the gods, pleased with him, bestows his own celestial realm. He attains the exceedingly rare abode of Brahma. O learned one, the merit and fruits of such actions are beyond description—even I cannot recount them all. Indeed, the giver becomes like Rudra himself, entirely free from all sin. Even over hundreds of years, no one could enumerate the full measure of his merit. On one side are all the sacrifices, complete with the finest gifts, and yet the merit of giving remains supreme. If one protects a Brahmin who is afflicted by fear, that too is a great act. The giver of cloth attains Rudra’s abode; the giver of a maiden in marriage attains Brahma’s realm. If a maiden is adorned and given in marriage to one versed in spiritual knowledge, especially on the full moon of Kārtika or Āṣāḍha, the giver is freed from all sins accumulated even in noble births and attains the form of Rudra. He who marks a buffalo with the sign of the Śiva-liṅga and sets it free, or who gives betel according to his means, or who gives sugarcane, is blessed. The giver of sugarcane goes to Brahma’s abode, and one who gives jaggery or sugarcane juice attains the ocean of milk. By giving knowledge, a person attains union with Mādhava, the Lord. And by giving cows for the purposes of recitation, riding, or milking, one is lifted from the torments of hell. By the gift of knowledge, one attains union with Vishnu. The gift of a Śālagrāma stone is proclaimed as a great and sacred offering. The fruit gained by giving away ten million universes is doubled by the gift of a single Śālagrāma stone. Whoever gives, O Lord, from his own house, especially a golden vessel adorned with jewels, attains immense merit. By giving a ruby, one achieves the highest liberation; by giving coral, heaven is attained; and by giving pearls, one reaches the realm of Rudra. Thus, O king, the acts of giving—especially of food, water, knowledge, and sacred objects—bring about the highest good, leading the giver and his lineage to realms of purity, fulfillment, and ultimate liberation.