Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 27
सुतेन किल जातेन जायते चानृणः पिता । सत्यं करिष्ये तद्वाक्यं संतर्प्यातिथिमुत्तमम्
sutena kila jātena jāyate cānṛṇaḥ pitā | satyaṃ kariṣye tadvākyaṃ saṃtarpyātithimuttamam
സത്യമായും, പുത്രൻ ജനിച്ചാൽ പിതാവ് ഋണമുക്തനാകുന്നു. ആ വാക്കിനെ ഞാൻ സത്യമാക്കും—ഈ ഉത്തമ അതിഥിയെ വിധിപൂർവ്വം തൃപ്തിപ്പെടുത്തി.
Kamaṭha
Listener: Hārīta (and implicitly the atithi)
Scene: Kamaṭha speaks with firm conviction, as if taking a vow; the father watches with approval; the guest is honored as ‘uttama atithi’.
FAQs
A householder perfects dharma by honoring and satisfying a worthy guest; such hospitality is treated as a sacred obligation.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the emphasis is on universal atithi-dharma within the Skanda Purana’s dharmic teaching.
The prescription is ‘saṃtarpana’—properly gratifying the guest through respectful reception and fitting offering (hospitality/feeding).