Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 29, Shloka 46
Adhyaya 29 — Alarka’s Inquiry and Madalasa’s Teaching on Householder Dharma (Gārhasthya), Vaiśvadeva, and Atithi Hospitality
वैश्वदेवं हि नामैतत् कुर्यात् सायं तथा दिने । मांसमन्नं तथा शाकं गृहे यच्चोपसाधितम् । न च तत् स्वयमश्नीयाद् विधिवद्यन्न निर्वपेत् ॥
vaiśvadevaṃ hi nāmaitat kuryāt sāyaṃ tathā dine | māṃsam annaṃ tathā śākaṃ gṛhe yac copasādhitam | na ca tat svayam aśnīyād vidhivad yanna nirvapet ||
This is indeed called Vaiśvadeva; one should perform it in the evening and also by day. Whatever has been prepared in the house—meat, cooked food, or vegetables—one should not eat it oneself without first setting aside and distributing portions according to the proper rule.
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FAQs
Consumption is to be sanctified by prior sharing and offering. The householder’s meal becomes dharmic when it acknowledges devas and dependent beings first.
Ācāra/Dharma instruction closely aligned with pañca-yajña praxis; not a pancalakṣaṇa narrative element.
‘Not eating first’ disciplines the ego’s immediacy. The offering (nirvapaṇa) converts private appetite into a cosmic exchange, making food a sacrament rather than mere gratification.