Shloka 57
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
सर्वातिथ्यं त्रिवर्गस्य यथाशक्ति यथा्हत: । व्यापार करनेवाले सदाचारी वैश्यको तिल, चन्दन और रसकी विक्री नहीं करनी चाहिये तथा ब्राह्मण, क्षत्रिय और वैश्य--इस त्रिवर्गकका सब प्रकारसे यथाशक्ति यथायोग्य आतिथ्यसत्कार करना चाहिये ।।
sarvātithyaṁ trivargasya yathāśakti yathārhataḥ | śūdradharmaḥ paro nityaṁ śuśrūṣā ca dvijātiṣu |
Śrī Maheśvara bersabda: “Kepada tiga varṇa yang lebih tinggi—Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, dan Vaiśya—hendaklah diberikan penghormatan tamu sepenuhnya, sesuai kemampuan dan sebagaimana patut. Adapun bagi Śūdra, dharma yang tertinggi dan senantiasa berlaku ialah melayani serta berbakti dengan penuh perhatian kepada para dvija. Seorang Śūdra yang berkata benar, menaklukkan inderanya, dan tekun melayani tamu yang datang ke rumahnya, menghimpun kebajikan tapas yang besar; baginya, dharma berupa pelayanan itu sendiri menjadi laku tapa yang keras.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that hospitality should be offered appropriately and within one’s means, and that for a Śūdra the foremost, continual dharma is respectful service to the twice-born; truthful, self-controlled service to guests is itself a form of tapas that yields great merit.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused setting, Śrī Maheśvara delivers a normative teaching on social and ethical duties—highlighting proper hospitality toward the three higher varṇas and defining service as the Śūdra’s principal religious discipline.