Shloka 63
Nṛga-upākhyāna: Brāhmaṇa-sva and the Consequence of Misappropriated Gift-Cattle (कृकलास-रूपे नृगोपाख्यानम्)
अभुकक्त्वातिथये चाजन्न॑ प्रयच्छेद् य: समाहित: । स वैब्रद्याविदां लोकान् प्राप्तुयाद् भरतर्षभ
abhuktvātithaye cājñān prayacched yaḥ samāhitaḥ | sa vai brahmavidāṁ lokān prāpnuyād bharatarṣabha ||
Dijo Bhishma: Oh toro entre los Bharatas, el hombre que, con la mente recogida y concentrada, da alimento a un huésped aun permaneciendo él mismo hambriento, ese dador alcanza los mundos de los conocedores de Brahman. El verso ensalza la hospitalidad abnegada como una forma excelsa de dharma, donde se acepta de buen grado la propia incomodidad para honrar el deber sagrado hacia el atithi.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that true hospitality and charity are proven by sacrifice: giving food to a guest even when one is hungry oneself, done with a steady and sincere mind, leads to exalted spiritual merit—symbolized as reaching the realms of Brahman-knowers.
In the Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhisthira on dharma. Here he highlights atithi-sevā (service to guests) and dāna as a superior ethical practice, promising a lofty posthumous destination for one who prioritizes the guest over personal comfort.