Shloka 15
अतिथिर् यस्य भग्नाशो गृहात् प्रतिनिवर्तते स दत्त्वा दुष्कृतं तस्मै पुण्यम् आदाय गच्छति
atithir yasya bhagnāśo gṛhāt pratinivartate sa dattvā duṣkṛtaṃ tasmai puṇyam ādāya gacchati
If a guest, his hope of welcome broken, turns back from a house, he departs giving that householder his own demerit and carrying away the householder’s merit.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Duties and inner discipline of the gṛhastha (householder), especially hospitality and right conduct
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: To turn away a guest transfers one’s puṇya to the disappointed atithi and receives his duṣkṛta, making hospitality a direct moral exchange.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Treat guests and those seeking help with prompt, respectful attention; avoid neglect that harms others’ dignity.
Vishishtadvaita: Ethical dharma is grounded in reverence to beings as belonging to the Lord, so honoring the atithi preserves one’s puṇya as service to Nārāyaṇa’s creation.
FAQs
This verse teaches that hospitality is not merely social courtesy but a karmic duty: refusing a guest causes one’s merit to be lost and the guest’s demerit to be incurred.
Parāśara presents karma as transferable in effect through conduct: a disappointed guest ‘leaves behind’ duṣkṛta for the host and ‘takes away’ the host’s puṇya, emphasizing immediate ethical accountability.
Even without naming Vishnu directly, the teaching supports Vaishnava dharma: upholding righteous order in daily life aligns the householder with the cosmic sovereignty of Vishnu, the sustainer of dharma.