Shloka 216
आतिथ्यं दीयतामेतत् काडक्षितं मे चिरं प्रति । और कहा--'मैंने अपने बाहुबलसे सारी पृथ्वीको जीत लिया है तथा सम्पूर्ण शत्रुओंका संहार कर डाला है। अब आप दोनोंसे युद्ध करनेकी इच्छा लेकर इस पर्वतपर आया हूँ। यही मेरा चिरकालसे अभिलषित मनोरथ है। आप अतिथि-सत्कारके रूपमें इसे ही पूर्ण कर दीजिये
ātithyaṃ dīyatām etat kāṅkṣitaṃ me ciraṃ prati |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Grant me this hospitality—something I have long desired. By the strength of my arms I have conquered the whole earth and destroyed all my enemies. Now I have come to this mountain with the wish to fight you two. Fulfil this long-cherished aim of mine as the offering due to a guest.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical tension between atithi-dharma (honoring a guest) and the misuse of that norm: the speaker frames a violent demand (combat) as ‘hospitality,’ showing how dharmic language can be invoked to legitimize personal ambition and pride.
A boastful challenger addresses two opponents, claiming he has already conquered the earth and slain his enemies. He has come to a mountain specifically to fight them and asks them to ‘grant’ this fight as the hospitality owed to a guest.