Shloka 57
अग्निहोत्रमनड्वांश्व॒ ज्ञातयो5तिथिबान्धवा: । पुत्रा दाराश्च भृत्याश्व निर्दहेयुरपूजिता:,यदि गृहस्थ मनुष्य अग्निहोत्र, साँड, जाति-भाई, अतिथि-अभ्यागत, बन्धु-बान्धव, स्त्री-पुत्र तथा भृत्यजनोंका आदर-सत्कार न करे तो वे अपनी क्रोधाग्निसे उसे जला सकते हैं
agnihotram anaḍvāṁś ca jñātayo ’tithibāndhavāḥ | putrā dārāś ca bhṛtyāś ca nirdaheyuḥ apūjitāḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “If a householder fails to honor the sacred Agnihotra, the draught-oxen, kinsmen, guests, and relatives—along with his sons, wife, and servants—then, when left unrespected, they may burn him up with the fire of their anger. Thus, neglect of due reverence within the household becomes a moral danger that consumes one’s own life and standing.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A householder must uphold dharma through daily sacred duty (Agnihotra) and through respectful care of dependents and social ties—guests, kin, family members, and servants. Neglecting them invites moral and social ruin, symbolized as being ‘burned’ by their anger.
Yudhiṣṭhira is articulating norms of gṛhastha-dharma: the household is sustained by ritual obligation and by honoring those who support and depend on it. He warns that disrespect toward these pillars of domestic life rebounds destructively upon the negligent householder.