Shloka 56
Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
अदितिर्व देवानामन्नमपचदेतद्ू भुक्त्वासुरान्ू हनिष्यन्तीति तत्र बुधो ब्रतचर्यासमाप्तावागच्छददितिं चावोचद् भिक्षां देहीति तत्र देवै: पूर्वमेतत् प्राश्यं नान्येनेत्यदितिर्भिक्षां नादादथ भिक्षाप्रत्याख्यान-रुषितेन बुधेन ब्रह्मभूतेनादिति: शप्ता अदितेरुदरे भविष्यति व्यथा विवस्वतो द्वितीयजन्मन्यण्डसंज्ञितस्य अण्डं मातुरदित्या मारितं स मार्तण्डो विवस्वानभवच्छाद्धदेव:,अदितिने देवताओंके लिये इस उद्देश्यसे रसोई तैयार की थी कि वे इसे खाकर असुरोंका वध कर सकेंगे। इसी समय बुध अपनी व्रतचर्या समाप्त करके अदितिके पास गये और बोले--'मुझे भिक्षा दीजिये।! अदितिने सोचा यह अन्न पहले देवताओंको ही खाना चाहिये, दूसरे किसीको नहीं; इसलिये उन्होंने बुधको भिक्षा नहीं दी। भिक्षा न मिलनेसे रोषमें भरे हुए ब्राह्मण बुधने अदितिको यह शाप दिया कि “अण्ड नामधारी विवस्वान्के दूसरे जन्मके समय अदितिके उदरमें पीड़ा होगी।” माता अदितिके पेटका वह अण्ड उस पीड़ाद्वारा मारा गया। मृत अण्डसे प्रकट होनेके कारण श्राद्धदेवसंज्ञक विवस्वान् मार्तण्ड नामसे प्रसिद्ध हुए
Aditir va devānām annam apacad etad bhuktvā asurān haniṣyantīti. Tatra Budho vratacaryā-samāptāv āgacchad Aditiṃ cāvocad: “bhikṣāṃ dehīti”. Tatra devaiḥ pūrvam etat prāśyaṃ nānyeneti Aditir bhikṣāṃ nādāt. Atha bhikṣā-pratyākhyāna-ruṣitena Budhena brahma-bhūtena Aditiḥ śaptā: “Aditer udare bhaviṣyati vyathā Vivasvato dvitīya-janmany aṇḍa-saṃjñitasya”. Aṇḍaṃ mātur Adit yā māritaṃ; sa Mārtaṇḍo Vivasvān abhavat, Śrāddhadevaḥ.
Aditi cooked food for the gods with the intention that, after eating it, they would be able to slay the Asuras. At that very time Budha, having completed his observance, came to Aditi and asked, “Give me alms.” Aditi reflected, “This food should be eaten first by the gods, and by no one else,” and so she did not give Budha any alms. Enraged at being refused, Budha—now possessed of brahmanic potency—cursed Aditi: “In your womb there will arise pain at the time of Vivasvat’s second birth, when he is in the form of an egg.” That egg in mother Aditi’s belly was destroyed by the pain; and because he emerged from a dead egg, Vivasvat became known as Mārtaṇḍa, also called Śrāddhadeva. Ethically, the passage warns that even a seemingly reasonable prioritization (serving the gods first) can become adharma when it violates the duty of hospitality and alms to a brahmin/guest, and that the power of ascetic merit, when joined with anger, can yield grave consequences.
तामिन्द्र उवाच गच्छ नहुषस्त्वया वाच्योथ<पूर्वेण मामृषियुक्तेन यानेन त्वमधिरूढ
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes the dharma of hospitality and almsgiving: refusing a rightful request for bhikṣā—especially from an ascetic/brahmin—can become a serious ethical lapse, even if one’s intention is to serve a higher cause. It also cautions that tapas-generated spiritual power, when mixed with anger, can produce destructive outcomes.
Aditi prepares food for the gods so they may defeat the Asuras. Budha arrives after completing his vow and asks for alms, but Aditi refuses, wanting the gods to eat first. Budha, angered, curses her that she will suffer pain in her womb during Vivasvān’s second birth in egg-form; the egg is destroyed, and Vivasvān becomes known as Mārtaṇḍa (and Śrāddhadeva) because he manifests from a dead egg.