Shloka 7
Viṣṇu-sahasranāma—Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Recitation (विष्णोर्नामसहस्रम्)
गवां शतसहसंत्रं च यो दद्याज्ज्येष्ठपुष्करे । न तद्धर्मफलं तुल्यमतिथिर्यस्य तुष्यति
Bhīṣma uvāca — gavāṁ śata-sahasraṁ ca yo dadyāj jyeṣṭha-puṣkare | na tad dharma-phalaṁ tulyam atithir yasya tuṣyati ||
Bhishma bersabda: “Sekalipun seseorang menghadiahkan seratus ribu ekor lembu di Jyeṣṭha-Puṣkara, pahala amalan itu tidak setara dengan pahala orang yang tetamunya benar-benar puas dengan khidmat yang diberikannya.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sincere hospitality—service that genuinely satisfies an atithi (guest)—yields greater dharma-phala than even enormous, prestigious acts of charity such as donating a hundred thousand cows at a famous tīrtha.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he contrasts grand ritualized giving at a pilgrimage place with the immediate, personal duty of honoring guests, declaring the latter superior in spiritual merit.