Shloka 2

उद्योगपर्व — विदुरनीतिः (Adhyāya 37): आयुःक्षयहेतवः, नीतिसूत्राणि, बलभेदाः, पाण्डव-विग्रहदोषदर्शनम्

Devanagari script

पीठं दत्त्वा साधवे$भ्यागताय आनीयाप: परिनिर्णिज्य पादौ | सुखं पृष्टवा प्रतिवेद्यात्मसंस्थां ततो दद्यादन्नमवेक्ष्य धीर:,धीर पुरुषको चाहिये, जब कोई साधु पुरुष अतिथिके रूपमें घरपर आवे, तब पहले आसन देकर एवं जल लाकर उसके चरण पखारे, फिर उसकी कुशल पूछकर अपनी स्थिति बतावे, तदनन्तर आवश्यकता समझकर अन्न भोजन करावे

Transliteration

pīṭhaṃ dattvā sādhave ’bhyāgatāya ānīyāpaḥ parinirṇijya pādau | sukhaṃ pṛṣṭvā prativedyātmasaṃsthāṃ tato dadyād annam avekṣya dhīraḥ ||

Translation

Vidura lehrt die rechte Gastpflicht: Wenn ein tugendhafter Mensch als Gast ins Haus kommt, soll der weise Hausherr zuerst einen Sitz anbieten, Wasser bringen und dem Gast die Füße waschen; dann nach seinem Wohlergehen fragen und die eigene Lage mitteilen. Danach soll er, die Bedürfnisse des Gastes erwägend, Speise reichen.

Word by Word

• {'pīṭham': 'a seat, stool, or place to sit (āsana)', 'dattvā': 'having given', 'sādhave': 'to a good/virtuous person

• to a saintly man', 'abhyāgatāya': 'to one who has come/arrived (as a guest)', 'ānīya': 'having brought', 'āpaḥ': 'water', 'parinirṇijya': 'having washed/cleansed thoroughly', 'pādau': 'the two feet', 'sukham': 'well-being, comfort, welfare', 'pṛṣṭvā': 'having asked/inquired', 'prativedya': 'having informed/told in return', 'ātma-saṃsthām': 'one’s own condition/state (of affairs)', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'dadyāt': 'should give (optative: a prescription of duty)', 'annam': 'food, meal', 'avekṣya': 'having considered/observed

• with due regard to (need, propriety)', 'dhīraḥ': 'the wise, steady, discerning person'}

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura
• sādhu (virtuous guest)
• pīṭha (seat)
• āpaḥ (water)
• pāda (feet)
• anna (food)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The core teaching is atithi-dharma: a wise person should honor a virtuous guest through respectful reception—offering a seat, water for washing the feet, courteous inquiry, and then providing food according to the guest’s need.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vidura is instructing proper ethical conduct in the royal/householder setting during the Udyoga Parva: he lays out the step-by-step protocol of receiving a good person who arrives as a guest, emphasizing discernment and reverence as marks of the dhīra (wise).