Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 114
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
अतिथिं काड्क्षमाणो वै शेषान्नकृतभोजन: । सत्यधर्मरत: शान्तो मुनिधर्मेण युज्यते
atithiṁ kāṅkṣamāṇo vai śeṣānna-kṛta-bhojanaḥ | satya-dharma-rataḥ śānto muni-dharmeṇa yujyate ||
He who waits in expectation of a guest, and therefore does not eat even the remaining food, who is devoted to truth and righteousness, and who is tranquil—such a person is aligned with the dharma of sages.
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True righteousness includes active hospitality: one should be so committed to honoring a guest that one postpones even one’s own meal. Such truthfulness, calmness, and prioritizing the guest are marks of conduct worthy of a muni (sage).
Śrī Maheśvara describes a standard of virtuous behavior: a person remains attentive for the arrival of an atithi and refrains from eating until the duty of hospitality is fulfilled, thereby embodying truth, dharma, and the serene discipline associated with sages.