Shloka 63

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

Devanagari script

स्वाध्यायगोत्रचरणम् अपृष्ट्वा च तथा कुलम् हिरण्यगर्भबुद्ध्या तं मन्येताभ्यागतं गृही

Transliteration

svādhyāyagotracaraṇam apṛṣṭvā ca tathā kulam hiraṇyagarbhabuddhyā taṃ manyetābhyāgataṃ gṛhī

Translation

Without first questioning the guest about his Vedic study, clan, Vedic school, or even family, the householder should regard the one who has arrived as worthy of reverence—seeing in him the presence of Hiraṇyagarbha, the cosmic principle through which the Lord’s order is made manifest.

Word by Word

• स्वाध्यायगोत्रचरणम्: (his) Vedic study, lineage, and school/branch
• स्वाध्यायगोत्रचरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svādhyāya + gotra + caraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (Neuter, Accusative, Singular; collective dvandva)

• अपृष्ट्वा: without asking
• अपृष्ट्वा: Purvakala/Kriya-viseshana (Prior action modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: a-√prach (प्रच्छ् धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), नकार-प्रत्ययेन निषेधार्थः (gerund: 'without asking')

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• तथा: likewise; similarly
• तथा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• कुलम्: family
• कुलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• हिरण्यगर्भबुद्ध्या: with the thought that (he is) Hiraṇyagarbha
• हिरण्यगर्भबुद्ध्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hiraṇya-garbha + buddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन (Feminine, Instrumental, Singular)

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (Masculine, Accusative, Singular; pronoun)

• मन्येत: should consider; should think
• मन्येत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √man (मन् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद (Optative, 3rd person singular, Atmanepada)

• अभ्यागतम्: arrived; come as a guest
• अभ्यागतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhi-ā-√gam (गम् धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Past participle, Masculine, Accusative, Singular)

• गृही: householder
• गृही: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛhin (गृहिन् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Proper reception of guests without social interrogation; the sacral vision of the atithi

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: One should honor the arriving guest without probing pedigree or learning, seeing the visitor as embodying Hiraṇyagarbha—thus treating hospitality as worship of the cosmic divine presence.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Practice non-judgmental respect: receive people first with kindness and service, postponing social categorization; train the mind to perceive the divine in the other.

Vishishtadvaita: Antaryāmin-bhāva: the Lord’s immanent presence is recognized in the embodied ‘other,’ grounding ethical conduct in theological vision.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Antaryamin: Yes

Characters & Entities

• Hiraṇyagarbha
• Atithi (guest)

FAQs

What is the significance of honoring a guest without asking lineage or Vedic credentials in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse teaches that atithi-satkara is a universal duty: the guest is to be revered first, without social or sectarian scrutiny, because hospitality upholds dharma and the cosmic order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain proper gṛhastha conduct here?

Parāśara frames household ethics as spiritual practice: the householder should not interrogate the guest’s svādhyāya, gotra, or caraṇa, but instead receive him with reverence, treating his arrival as sacred.

What is the theological importance of Hiraṇyagarbha in this context?

Invoking Hiraṇyagarbha elevates hospitality from mere etiquette to sacred vision: the guest is approached as embodying a cosmic, divinely ordered principle—aligning social duty with a Vaishnava understanding of higher reality.