Shloka 70
Kṛṣṇādi-Śivabhaktoddhāraṇa & Śiva-māhātmya-varṇana
Deliverance of Krishna and other devotees; Description of Shiva’s Greatness
गुप्तो वा मुनिशालायां भिक्षुरायाति तद्गृहम् । भार्य्यामुवाच यः कश्चिदवश्यं निर्धनो यतः
gupto vā muniśālāyāṃ bhikṣurāyāti tadgṛham | bhāryyāmuvāca yaḥ kaścidavaśyaṃ nirdhano yataḥ
Whether he came secretly from a sage’s hermitage or arrived at that house as a mendicant—whoever he was—he said to his wife: “Surely he is poor; that is why he has come.”
Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya, within the Uma Samhita discourse)
Tattva Level: pashu
FAQs
It highlights the householder’s dharma of recognizing need and responding with compassion; in Shaiva thought, serving the needy and the renunciate refines the pashu (bound soul) toward Shiva-centered purity and grace.
While not naming the Linga directly, it reflects Saguna Shiva worship in daily life: honoring Shiva through respectful reception of guests and mendicants, treating them as worthy of reverence rather than suspicion.
Practice atithi-seva as a Shaiva discipline: offer food/water with the remembrance of Shiva (e.g., inwardly repeating the Panchakshara, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”) and cultivate non-judgmental charity toward those who arrive seeking support.