Shloka 97
आचारप्रशंसा
Praise of Ācāra as the Basis of Longevity, Fame, and Prosperity
प्रजानाथ! बुद्धिमान् पुरुष पहले अतिथिको अन्न और जल देकर पीछे स्वयं एकाग्रचित्त हो भोजन करे ।। समानमेकपड्क्त्यां तु भोज्यमन्नं नरेश्वर । विष हालाहलं भुड्क्ते यो5प्रदाय सुहृज्जने,नरेश्वर! एक पंक्तिमें बैठनेपर सबको एक समान भोजन करना चाहिये। जो अपने सुहृदजनोंको न देकर अकेला ही भोजन करता है, वह हालाहल विष ही खाता है
Prajānātha! buddhimān puruṣaḥ pūrvam atithaye annaṁ jalaṁ ca dattvā paścāt svayam ekāgracitto bhojanaṁ kuryāt. Samānam ekapaṅktyāṁ tu bhojyam annaṁ nareśvara; viṣaṁ hālāhalaṁ bhuṅkte yo ’pradāya suhṛjjane.
Bhīṣma said: “O lord of the people! A wise man should first offer food and water to a guest, and only afterward eat himself with a collected mind. And, O king, when people sit in a single row to dine, the food should be served equally to all. Whoever eats alone without giving to his well-wishing companions truly consumes the deadly Hālāhala poison.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hospitality and fairness in sharing are essential duties: feed the guest first, then eat with a focused mind; and when dining together, serve equally—eating alone without giving to companions is condemned as morally poisonous.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma addresses the king and lays down conduct for meals—prioritizing the guest, maintaining mental discipline while eating, and enforcing equal distribution among those seated together—using the vivid image of Hālāhala poison to censure selfish consumption.