Shloka 14

Devanagari script

देवतातिथि पूर्व च सदा प्राश्नीत वाग्यत: । अस्पर्धितमनाश्चैव लघ्वाशी देवताश्रय:,नित्य प्रति पहले देवता और अतिथियोंको भोजन दे, उसके बाद मौन होकर स्वयं अन्न ग्रहण करे। मनमें किसीके साथ स्पर्धा न रखे, हलका भोजन करे, देवताओंका सहारा ले

Transliteration

devatātithi-pūrvaṃ ca sadā prāśnīyāt vāg-yataḥ | aspardhitamanāś caiva laghv-āśī devatā-śrayaḥ ||

Translation

Vāyu sprach: „Man soll stets zuerst den Göttern und den Gästen Speise darbringen; danach, in Schweigen und Selbstzucht, die eigene Mahlzeit zu sich nehmen. Der Geist sei frei von Rivalität mit irgendwem; man esse leicht und lebe, indem man bei den Göttern Zuflucht nimmt.“

Word by Word

देवतान्the gods

अतिथीन्guests

पूर्वम्first, beforehand

चand

सदाalways

प्राश्नीयात्should eat/partake

वाक्यतःin silence / restrained in speech

अस्पर्धितमनाःone whose mind is free from rivalry

चand

एवindeed, just

लघ्वाशीone who eats lightly

देवताश्रयःone who takes refuge in the gods

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu (Vāyudeva)

devatāḥ (the gods)

atithi (guest)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Prioritize dharmic giving—first honor the gods and guests with food—then eat oneself with restraint. Cultivate inner purity by avoiding rivalry and envy, practice moderation in diet, and maintain a devotional reliance on the divine.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva is instructing a code of conduct centered on daily discipline: hospitality and offerings come before personal consumption, speech is restrained during eating, the mind is kept free of competitive hostility, and one lives with faith in divine order.