Shloka 9

Jñāna-yoga and Karma-phala: Manu–Bṛhaspati on Akṣara and the Limits of Mantra

Devanagari script

अतिथीनां च सर्वेषां प्रेष्याणां स्वजनस्य च । सामान्य भोजन भृत्यै: पुरुषस्य प्रशस्यते

Transliteration

atithīnāṁ ca sarveṣāṁ preṣyāṇāṁ svajanasya ca | sāmānyaṁ bhojanaṁ bhṛtyaiḥ puruṣasya praśasyate ||

Translation

Bhishma said: For all guests, for one’s attendants, and for one’s own family as well, it is praised as the proper conduct of a householder that the meal be the same—shared without discrimination. The teaching underscores household dharma: hospitality and fair treatment within the home are not optional courtesies but ethical duties that sustain social harmony and personal righteousness.

Word by Word

• {'atithi': 'guest (one who arrives without a fixed appointment

• a recipient of hospitality)', 'sarveṣām': 'of all', 'preṣya': 'servant, attendant, one employed to carry out tasks', 'svajana': 'one’s own people

• family/kinsmen', 'sāmānya': 'common, equal, the same (without special distinction)', 'bhojana': 'food

• act of eating', 'bhṛtya': 'servant/retainer (one maintained by wages/support)', 'puruṣa': 'man

• person (here, the householder as an ethical agent)', 'praśasyate': 'is praised

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• guest (atithi)
• servants/attendants (preṣya, bhṛtya)
• family/kinsmen (svajana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A householder should provide the same meal to guests, servants, and family—practicing hospitality and fairness without partiality. Ethical living is shown through daily acts of equitable care.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on proper household conduct, highlighting how everyday domestic choices—like sharing food equally—embody righteousness.