स गच्छेद्रौरवांल्लोकान्योऽतिथिं नाभिपूजयेत् । अतिथिः पूजितो येन स देवैरपि पूज्यते
sa gacchedrauravāṃllokānyo'tithiṃ nābhipūjayet | atithiḥ pūjito yena sa devairapi pūjyate
“Aquele que não honra o hóspede vai aos mundos de Raurava. Mas aquele por quem o hóspede é honrado, esse é honrado até mesmo pelos deuses.”
Unspecified (didactic narration within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa, likely Sūta to sages)
Tirtha: Raurava (nāraka-loka)
Type: kshetra
Scene: A split narrative: on one side a householder refuses a guest and a dark path opens toward Raurava; on the other side a host honours a guest with pādya/arghya and devas shower flowers.
Honouring guests is a direct path to merit and divine favour; neglecting them leads to severe karmic consequence.
No site is named; the verse teaches universal atithi-dharma rather than a location-specific māhātmya.
Atithi-pūjā—welcoming and honouring the guest—is prescribed as obligatory dharma.