Shloka 15
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
ऋषयो भ्यागतास्तत्र देव्या भकत्या तपोधना: । आतिदथ्यं च कृतं तेषां शाकेन किल भारत
ṛṣayo ’bhyāgatās tatra devyā bhaktyā tapodhanāḥ | ātithyaṃ ca kṛtaṃ teṣāṃ śākena kila bhārata ||
Rich in ascetic merit, many sages arrived there, drawn by the goddess’s devotion. O Bhārata, she welcomed and honored those seers with hospitality, offering them simple leafy greens as food.
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
True hospitality (ātithya-dharma) depends on sincerity and reverence, not luxury; even simple food offered with devotion and discipline becomes ethically and spiritually significant.
Sages, impressed by the goddess’s devotion, come to her. She receives them respectfully and serves them a simple meal of śāka (leafy greens), demonstrating austere yet proper guest-honoring conduct.