Shloka 19
Gārhasthya-dharma: Vāsudeva–Pṛthivī-saṃvāda
Householder Duties and Daily Offerings
महाराज! इसके बाद विशेष अन्तके द्वारा अतिथियोंको भी सम्मानपूर्वक भोजन करावे। ऐसा करनेसे गृहस्थ पुरुष सम्पूर्ण मनुष्योंको संतुष्ट करता है ।।
mahārāja! tataḥ paraṁ viśeṣāntakena atithīn api satkṛtya bhojayet. evaṁ kṛte gṛhasthaḥ puruṣaḥ sarvān manuṣyān saṁtoṣayati. gṛhastha-dharma-sambandhe śrīkṛṣṇasya pṛthivyā saha saṁvādaḥ— anityaṁ hi sthito yasmāt tasmād atithir ucyate. ācāryasya pituś caiva sakhy-upāptasya cātitheḥ, sadā nivedayet— ‘amukaṁ vastu me gṛhe vidyate; tad bhavān gṛhṇātu.’ tataḥ yathā te ājñāpayeyuḥ tathāiva kuryāt. evaṁ kṛte dharmasya pālanaṁ bhavati.
O König, danach soll man mit besonderer Sorgfalt auch die Gäste ehren, indem man ihnen ehrerbietig Speise darreicht. So vermag der Hausvater alle Menschen zufriedenzustellen. In der Darlegung des Hausstandsdharma—als Gespräch Śrī Kṛṣṇas mit der Erde überliefert—heißt „atithi“ (Gast), wer nicht dauerhaft im eigenen Hause verweilt. Darum soll man zum Lehrer (ācārya), zum Vater, zum vertrauenswürdigen Freund, der eingetroffen ist, und zum Gast stets sagen: „Dies und jenes ist in meinem Hause vorhanden; nehmt es an.“ Und dann handle man genau nach ihrer Weisung. So wird der Dharma gewahrt.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A householder upholds dharma by honoring and feeding guests and respected persons (teacher, father, trusted friend) with sincere offerings, and by acting according to their wishes; hospitality is framed as a central social-ethical duty.
Vāyudeva instructs the king on householder conduct, citing a teaching presented as a dialogue of Śrī Kṛṣṇa with the Earth: a guest is defined as one who does not stay permanently, and the host should invite such persons to accept what is available and then comply with their directions.