Shloka 26
Umā–Maheśvara-saṃvāda: Varṇa-bhraṃśa, Ācāra (Vṛtta), and Karmic Ascent/Decline
अतिथिर्यस्य भग्नाशो गृहात् प्रतिनिवर्तते,जिसके घरसे अतिथि निराश लौट जाता है, उसके यहाँसे अतिथिका सत्कार न होनेके कारण देवता, पितर तथा अग्नि भी निराश लौट जाते हैं
atithir yasya bhagnāśo gṛhāt pratinivartate, tasya gṛhāt atithi-satkārābhāvāt devatāḥ pitaro 'gnir api bhagnāśāḥ pratinivartante
ધર્મે કહ્યું—જેના ઘરેથી અતિથિ નિરાશ થઈ પાછો ફરે છે, અતિથિ-સત્કાર ન થવાને કારણે એ જ ઘરેથી દેવતાઓ, પિતૃઓ અને અગ્નિ પણ નિરાશ થઈ પાછા ફરે છે.
धर्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hospitality (atithi-satkāra) is a central duty of the householder: if a guest leaves disappointed, it signifies a breach of dharma that also negates the household’s connection to gods, ancestors, and the sacred fire—symbols of blessing, lineage-obligation, and ritual order.
Dharma is instructing about righteous conduct in the Anuśāsana Parva. He frames the ethical consequence of neglecting a guest: the failure is not merely social but cosmic-ritual, as devatās, pitṛs, and Agni are said to ‘turn back’ when hospitality is denied.