Mahabharata 3.2.61 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 2, Shloka 61
ब्राह्मणानुयात्रा—शौनकोपदेशः
Brāhmaṇas Follow into Exile and Śaunaka’s Instruction
चक्षुर्दद्यान्मनो दद्याद् वाचं दद्याच्च सूनृताम् । अनुव्रजेदुपासीत स यज्ञ: पठचदक्षिण:
cakṣur dadyān mano dadyād vācaṃ dadyāc ca sūnṛtām | anuvrajed upāsīta sa yajñaḥ pañca-dakṣiṇaḥ ||
युधिष्ठिर म्हणाला—अतिथीस नेत्रांचे दान द्यावे (स्नेहपूर्ण, आदरयुक्त दृष्टी), मनाचे दान द्यावे (हितचिंतन व लक्ष), आणि सूनृता वाणी द्यावी—जी सत्य, प्रिय व हितकारी असते. तो निघू लागला की थोडे अंतर त्याच्या मागोमाग जावे; आणि तो घरी असेपर्यंत त्याच्या जवळ बसून सेवा करावी. हाच पाच प्रकारच्या दक्षिणांनी युक्त ‘अतिथि-यज्ञ’ होय.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hospitality is treated as a sacred duty (atithi-yajña). One honors a guest through five ‘dakṣiṇās’: welcoming gaze, benevolent attention, truthful-pleasant-beneficial speech (sūnṛtā), escorting the guest upon departure, and attentive presence/service while the guest stays.
Yudhiṣṭhira is articulating norms of dharma regarding how a householder should receive and serve an atithi. The verse frames everyday hospitality as a yajña completed by concrete acts of respect and care.
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