Shloka 233
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
प्रयच्छन्ति तु ये राजन् नोपसर्पन्ति ते समम् | इसलिये तुम सभी उपायोंसे अतिथियोंको भोजन देनेका प्रयत्न करो। राजन्! जो लोग अतिथिको चरण धोनेके लिये जल, पैरमें मलनेके लिये तेल, उजालेके लिये दीपक, भोजनके लिये अन्न तथा रहनेके लिये स्थान देते हैं, वे कभी यमराजके यहाँ नहीं जाते
prayacchanti tu ye rājan nopasarpanti te samam | (arthānusāreṇa) atithibhyo bhojanaṃ prayaccha; ye pādyaṃ tailaṃ dīpaṃ annaṃ nivāsaṃ ca dadati te kadācana yamarājasya gṛhaṃ na yānti ||
マールカンデーヤは言った。「王よ、客に施す者は、施さぬ者と同じ運命には至らぬ。ゆえに、あらゆる手立てを尽くして客人に食を与えよ。王よ、客に足を洗う水を与え、足に塗る油を与え、明かりのための灯を与え、食すべき糧を与え、宿る場所を与える者は、決してヤマの国へは赴かぬ。」
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches atithi-dharma: actively honor and care for guests through practical offerings—water, oil, light, food, and shelter. Such hospitality is presented as a powerful source of merit that protects one from Yama’s realm (i.e., from punitive afterlife consequences).
Sage Mārkaṇḍeya instructs a king on righteous conduct, emphasizing that those who give to guests are not equal to those who neglect them, and praising concrete acts of hospitality as spiritually protective.