Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21
ब्राह्मणं प्राहुरतिथिं संपूज्य शक्तितो बुधैः । न पृछेत्तत्राचरणं स्वाध्यायं चापि पंडितः
brāhmaṇaṃ prāhuratithiṃ saṃpūjya śaktito budhaiḥ | na pṛchettatrācaraṇaṃ svādhyāyaṃ cāpi paṃḍitaḥ
ಬುದ್ಧಿವಂತರು ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನನ್ನೇ ‘ಅತಿಥಿ’ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ. ತನ್ನ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ತಕ್ಕಂತೆ ಅವನನ್ನು ಪೂಜಿಸಿ, ಪಂಡಿತ ಗೃಹಸ್ಥನು ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಅವನ ಆಚರಣೆ ಅಥವಾ ಸ್ವಾಧ್ಯಾಯದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸಬಾರದು.
Unspecified (Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa instructional discourse)
Scene: A brāhmaṇa guest stands at the entrance; the householder offers a seat, water, and respectful gestures; the host’s face shows restraint and reverence, not curiosity or suspicion.
FAQs
True hospitality protects the guest’s dignity; service comes first, and judgment or interrogation is withheld.
No tīrtha is specified; the verse glorifies atithi-sevā as a portable ‘tīrtha’ of the home.
Honor the brāhmaṇa-guest according to one’s means, without questioning his conduct or svādhyāya at the time of reception.