Shloka 40
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
अतिथिदव्रतता धर्मों धर्मस्त्रेताग्निधारणम् | इष्टी क्ष पशुबन्धां श्व विधिपूर्व समाचरेत्
atithidavr̥tatā dharmo dharmas tretāgnidhāraṇam | iṣṭīś ca paśubandhāṁś ca vidhpūrvam samācaret ||
Mahādeva bersabda: “Baginya, dharma ialah teguh dalam kewajipan terhadap tetamu—menyambut dan memuliakan atithi—dan dharma juga ialah memelihara tiga api suci rumah tangga. Dia hendaklah pula melaksanakan dengan sempurna pelbagai upacara korban (iṣṭi) serta ritus korban haiwan yang ditetapkan, menurut tatacara yang benar.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma for a householder includes ethical hospitality to guests and disciplined maintenance of sacred obligations—especially preserving the three household fires and performing prescribed Vedic rites correctly (vidhi-pūrvam).
Śrī Mahēśvara is instructing on normative dharma: he enumerates key duties—honoring guests, sustaining the three fires, and conducting sacrifices—presenting them as foundational practices of righteous living.