Shloka 63
Nṛga-upākhyāna: Brāhmaṇa-sva and the Consequence of Misappropriated Gift-Cattle (कृकलास-रूपे नृगोपाख्यानम्)
अभुकक्त्वातिथये चाजन्न॑ प्रयच्छेद् य: समाहित: । स वैब्रद्याविदां लोकान् प्राप्तुयाद् भरतर्षभ
abhuktvātithaye cājñān prayacched yaḥ samāhitaḥ | sa vai brahmavidāṁ lokān prāpnuyād bharatarṣabha ||
Bhishma said: O bull among the Bharatas, a man who, with a collected and focused mind, gives food to a guest even while remaining hungry himself—such a giver attains the worlds of the knowers of Brahman. The verse praises self-denying hospitality as a high form of dharma, where personal discomfort is willingly accepted to honor the sacred duty toward an atithi.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that true hospitality and charity are proven by sacrifice: giving food to a guest even when one is hungry oneself, done with a steady and sincere mind, leads to exalted spiritual merit—symbolized as reaching the realms of Brahman-knowers.
In the Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhisthira on dharma. Here he highlights atithi-sevā (service to guests) and dāna as a superior ethical practice, promising a lofty posthumous destination for one who prioritizes the guest over personal comfort.