Shloka 24
शकुनि (हिरण्मय-पक्षी) उपदेशः — Vighasāśin and the Difficulty of Gārhasthya
दत्त्वातिथिभ्यो देवेभ्य: पितृभ्य: स्वजनाय च । अवशिष्टानि ये<श्रन्ति तानाहुर्विघसाशिन:
dattvātithibhyo devebhyaḥ pitṛbhyaḥ svajanāya ca | avaśiṣṭāni yeśnanti tān āhur vighasāśinaḥ ||
After giving food to guests, the gods, the ancestors, and one’s own kin, those who eat only what remains are called ‘vighasāśins’—people who place duty and reverence before personal consumption. The verse commends a disciplined household ethic: honoring divine and ancestral obligations, practicing hospitality, and caring for family first, so that one’s own share is taken last and without selfishness.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Serve and honor guests, gods, ancestors, and family before oneself; eating only what remains symbolizes self-restraint and prioritizing dharma over personal appetite.
The speaker defines the term ‘vighasāśin’ by describing a disciplined household practice: distributing food first to those owed reverence and care, and only then consuming the remainder.