Shloka 69
गृहस्थस्य सदाचारः: शौच, तर্পण, वैश्वदेव, अतिथिधर्म, भोजन-विधि, संध्योपासन, ऋतु-धर्मः
धाता प्रजापतिः शक्रो वह्निर् वसुगणो ऽर्यमा प्रविश्यातिथिम् एते वै भुञ्जन्ते ऽन्नं नरेश्वर
dhātā prajāpatiḥ śakro vahnir vasugaṇo 'ryamā praviśyātithim ete vai bhuñjante 'nnaṃ nareśvara
O lord of men, when a guest is received, Dhātā, Prajāpati, Śakra, Agni, the host of Vasus, and Aryaman enter into that guest; and it is truly they who partake of the food offered to him.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya; addressing the kingly ideal as 'nareśvara' in the verse)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Sacrality of the guest and why feeding him equals feeding the devas.
Teaching: Devotional
Quality: revealing
Concept: The guest is a vessel in whom cosmic deities (Dhātā, Prajāpati, Indra, Agni, the Vasus, Aryaman) are present; feeding him becomes deva-tarpaṇa through hospitality.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: See the divine in the person before you; offer food and respect as worship (seva) rather than mere social courtesy.
Vishishtadvaita: Antaryāmin-logic: higher powers operate within embodied beings; honoring the embodied is honoring the divine order sustained by Nārāyaṇa.
Vishnu Form: Narayana
Bhakti Type: Dasya
Antaryamin: Yes
FAQs
This verse teaches that welcoming and feeding a guest is not merely social courtesy but a sacred act: multiple deities are said to enter the guest and accept the offered food, making hospitality a daily form of yajña.
Parāśara frames the guest as a living locus of divine presence—Dhātā, Prajāpati, Indra, Agni, the Vasus, and Aryaman are described as entering the atithi—so service to the guest becomes service to cosmic order and divine governance.
Although Vishnu is not named here, the teaching supports Vaishnava theology by showing dharma as participation in Vishnu’s sustaining order: honoring the guest upholds the divine harmony through which the Supreme (Vishnu) preserves the world.