Shloka 8

कामबन्धन-निवृत्ति तथा शान्तिलक्षण-उपदेशः | Release from Desire-Bondage and the Marks of Peace

Devanagari script

तथास्यातिथय: पूज्या हव्यकव्यवहा: सदा । वेदविद्याव्रतस्नाता: श्रोत्रिया वेदपारगा:,यदि द्वारपर अतिथिके रूपमें वेदके पारंगत विद्वान, स्नातक, श्रोत्रिय, हव्य (यज्ञान्न) और कव्य (श्राद्धान्र) भोजन करनेवाले, जितेन्द्रिय, क्रियानिष्ठ, स्वधर्मसे ही जीवन-निर्वाह करनेवाले और तपस्वी ब्राह्मण आ जायाँ तो सदा उनकी विधिवत्‌ पूजा करके उन्हें हव्य और कव्य समर्पित करने चाहिये। उनके सत्कारके लिये यह सब करनेका विधान है

Transliteration

tathāsyātithayaḥ pūjyā havyakavyavahāḥ sadā | vedavidyāvratasnātāḥ śrotriyā vedapāragāḥ ||

Translation

Vyāsa said: Therefore, guests are always to be honored—especially those fit to receive havya (sacrificial offerings) and kavya (ancestral śrāddha offerings): Brahmins learned in the Veda, disciplined by vows, purified by the completion of study (snātaka), recognized as śrotriyas, and who have mastered the Vedas. When such a learned, self-controlled, duty-abiding ascetic arrives at one’s door as a guest, one should worship him respectfully according to rule and offer him what is due in havya and kavya. This is enjoined as the proper way of receiving guests and sustaining dharma through hospitality.

Word by Word

तथाthus/likewise

स्यात्should be

अतिथयःguests

पूज्याःto be honored/worthy of worship

हव्यकव्यवहाःthose who partake of havya and kavya offerings

सदाalways

वेदविद्याव्रतस्नाताःversed in Veda and learning, observant of vows, and having completed the स्नान (graduation)

श्रोत्रियाःlearned Vedic Brahmins (śrotriyas)

वेदपारगाःhaving gone to the far shore of the Veda; fully learned in the Vedas

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

atithi (guest)

śrotriya (Vedic scholar)

havya

kavya

Veda

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Hospitality is a central duty: when a qualified, Veda-learned Brahmin guest arrives, one should honor him properly and offer what is ritually appropriate (havya for sacrificial context and kavya for ancestral rites). Respecting such guests is presented as a concrete practice that sustains dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Vyāsa lays down a rule about receiving guests. He specifies the kinds of Brahmin guests—Veda-trained, disciplined, śrotriya, and Veda-mastered—who should be especially honored and supported through proper offerings.