Shloka 346

Devanagari script

पूजयित्वा ततः पश्चाद्‌ गृहस्थो भोक्तुमहति । गृहस्थको चाहिये कि वह पहले देवताओं, ऋषियों, मनुष्यों (अतिथियों), पितरों और घरके देवताओंका पूजन करके पीछे अपने भोजन करे

Transliteration

pūjayitvā tataḥ paścād gṛhastho bhoktumarhati |

Translation

Vyāsa lehrt: Ein Haushälter ist erst dann zum Essen befähigt, wenn er zuvor die gebührende Ehre und Verehrung dargebracht hat—zuerst den Göttern, dann den ṛṣi, den menschlichen Gästen, den Ahnen (pitṛ) und den Hausgottheiten. Der ethische Sinn ist, dass privater Genuss den heiligen und sozialen Pflichten nachgeordnet sein muss: Nahrung ist als disziplinierter Akt zu empfangen, gegründet in Dankbarkeit, Gastfreundschaft und Ehrfurcht vor den Ordnungen, die das Leben tragen.

Word by Word

पूजयित्वाhaving worshipped

ततःthen/thereafter

पश्चात्afterwards

गृहस्थःthe householder

भोक्तुम्to eat

अर्हतिis fit/ought

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

gṛhastha (householder)

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?

A householder should not treat food as mere personal consumption; one should first fulfill obligations of reverence and offering—honoring the divine, the sages, guests, ancestors, and household deities—so that eating becomes a dharmic act rooted in gratitude and responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on conduct, Vyāsa states a rule of household discipline: only after performing prior honors/offerings does the gṛhastha become fit to eat, emphasizing ordered duties before personal enjoyment.