Shloka 55
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
द्विज सक्तूनिमान् भूय: प्रतिगृह्लीष्व सत्तम । पत्नीके ऐसा कहनेपर ब्राह्मणने सत्तू लेकर अतिथिसे कहा--'साधुपुरुषोंमें श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मण! आप यह सत्तू भी पुनः ग्रहण कीजिये” ।।
sa tān pragṛhya bhuktvā ca na tuṣṭim agamad dvijaḥ | tam uñchavṛttir ālakṣya tataś cintāparo 'bhavat ||
পত্নীৰ কথামতে গৃহস্থে ক’লে—“হে দ্বিজশ্ৰেষ্ঠ, এই সক্তুও পুনৰ গ্ৰহণ কৰক।” ব্ৰাহ্মণে সেয়া লৈ ভক্ষণ কৰিলে, তথাপি তৃপ্ত নহ’ল। এই দেখি উঞ্ছবৃত্তিৰে জীৱিকা কৰা গৃহস্থ গভীৰ চিন্তাত পৰিল।
नकुल उवाच
Educational Q&A
True dharma is tested not by abundance but by constraint: the host’s anxiety arises from the ethical demand to honor a guest’s need even when one’s resources are minimal, highlighting the ideal of atithi-sevā and compassionate responsibility.
A brahmin guest consumes the offered food yet remains unsatisfied; the poor gleaner-householder notices this and becomes deeply worried, indicating an escalating moral dilemma about how to fulfill hospitality when nothing more seems available.