Shloka 70
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
अतिथि: पूजितो यस्य गृहस्थस्य तु गच्छति । नान्यस्तस्मात् परो धर्म इति प्राहुर्मनीषिण:
atithiḥ pūjito yasya gṛhasthasya tu gacchati | nānyas tasmāt paro dharma iti prāhur manīṣiṇaḥ ||
“ಯಾವ ಗೃಹಸ್ಥನ ಮನೆಯಿಂದ ಅತಿಥಿ ಪೂಜಿತನಾಗಿ ಹೊರಟುಹೋಗುತ್ತಾನೋ, ಅವನಿಗೆ ಇದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮೇಲಾದ ಧರ್ಮ ಮತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ—ಎಂದು ಜ್ಞಾನಿಗಳು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The highest dharma for a householder is to honor a guest so that the guest leaves satisfied and respected; hospitality is treated as a paramount moral obligation in domestic life.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he emphasizes household ethics by stating that wise authorities regard proper reception of guests as the supreme duty for a gṛhastha.