Shloka 21
Āraṇyaka-parva Adhyāya 199: Dharmavyādha on Svakarma, Vidhi, and the Limits of Ahiṃsā
ततः प्रासादयद् ब्राह्मणं भगवन् भुज्यतामिति । मुहूर्तादुद्वीक्ष्य शिबिमब्रवीत् ।। २१ || “तब राजाने ब्राह्मणको मनाते हुए कहा--'भगवन्! भोजन कर लीजिये।/' ब्राह्मणने दो घड़ीतक ऊपरकी ओर देखनेके पश्चात् शिबिसे कहा--
tataḥ prāsādayad brāhmaṇaṃ bhagavan bhujyatām iti | muhūrtād udvīkṣya śibim abravīt || 21 ||
Then the king, seeking to conciliate the brāhmaṇa, said, “Revered sir, please partake of food.” After gazing upward for a short while, the brāhmaṇa addressed Śibi. The scene underscores the ethic of honoring guests and the tension between royal hospitality and the deeper test that is about to unfold.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds atithi-dharma: a ruler’s obligation to honor and care for a guest—especially a brāhmaṇa—through respectful speech and offering food, even when the situation may conceal a moral test.
King Śibi respectfully urges the brāhmaṇa to eat. The brāhmaṇa pauses, looking upward for a moment, and then begins to speak to Śibi—signaling that a significant request or trial is about to be stated.