Shloka 59

गृहस्थस्य सदाचारः: शौच, तर্পण, वैश्वदेव, अतिथिधर्म, भोजन-विधि, संध्योपासन, ऋतु-धर्मः

Devanagari script

अतिथिं तत्र संप्राप्तं पूजयेत् स्वागतादिना तथासनप्रदानेन पादप्रक्षालनेन च

Transliteration

atithiṃ tatra saṃprāptaṃ pūjayet svāgatādinā tathāsanapradānena pādaprakṣālanena ca

Translation

When a guest arrives there, one should honor him with words of welcome, and likewise by offering a seat and by washing his feet, showing reverence through fitting hospitality.

Word by Word

• अतिथिम्: a guest
• अतिथिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अतिथि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (there)

• संप्राप्तम्: arrived
• संप्राप्तम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + प्र + आप् (धातु) → संप्राप्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (PPP/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; अतिथिम् इति विशेषणम्

• पूजयेत्: should honor/worship
• पूजयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• स्वागतादिना: with greetings etc.
• स्वागतादिना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वागत + आदि (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘स्वागतम् आदिः यस्य’ (with greetings and the like)

• तथा: also
• तथा: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/प्रकारवाचक (also/likewise)

• आसनप्रदानेन: by offering a seat
• आसनप्रदानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आसन + प्रदान (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—‘आसनस्य प्रदानम्’

• पादप्रक्षालनेन: by washing (his) feet
• पादप्रक्षालनेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद + प्रक्षालन (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—‘पादयोः प्रक्षालनम्’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (and)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya on dharma and right conduct)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Proper honoring of an arrived guest: welcome, seat, and foot-washing

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: ritually precise

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Hospitality should be enacted as reverential service—welcome, offering a seat, and washing the guest’s feet—mirroring worshipful honor.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Receive visitors with mindful presence: kind words, a place to sit, and a simple act of care (water/refreshment), treating the encounter as seva.

Vishishtadvaita: Bhakti expresses itself through embodied service; honoring the guest parallels honoring the Lord’s body (the world and its beings as His modes).

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Atithi (guest)

FAQs

What is the significance of atithi-seva (hospitality to guests) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse treats welcoming, seating, and washing a guest’s feet as concrete acts of dharma—social righteousness that sustains order and harmony in life.

How does Sage Parāśara explain proper household conduct in this chapter?

He frames dharma as lived practice: the householder’s virtue is shown through disciplined, respectful actions—here, formal hospitality toward an unexpected guest.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Though Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s dharma teaching implies that maintaining righteous conduct in society aligns one’s life with Vishnu’s sustaining power (sthiti) that upholds the world.