Shloka 71
गृहस्थस्य सदाचारः: शौच, तर্পण, वैश्वदेव, अतिथिधर्म, भोजन-विधि, संध्योपासन, ऋतु-धर्मः
ततः सुवासिनीदुःखिगर्भिणीवृद्धबालकान् भोजयेत् संस्कृतान्नेन प्रथमं चरमं गृही
tataḥ suvāsinīduḥkhigarbhiṇīvṛddhabālakān bhojayet saṃskṛtānnena prathamaṃ caramaṃ gṛhī
Pagkaraan nito, ang maybahay ay dapat magpakain muna—bago ang sarili—sa mga babaeng pinararangalan, sa mga nagdurusa, sa mga buntis, sa matatanda, at sa mga bata, gamit ang pagkaing inihanda nang wasto at pinabanal; at saka lamang siya kakain bilang huli.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
FAQs
This verse frames household life as dharma-in-action: the gṛhastha preserves social order by prioritizing those who must be protected—women to be honored, the distressed, pregnant women, elders, and children—before personal consumption.
Parāśara teaches an order of eating: food should be prepared in a refined, ritually fit way and offered first to those deserving care; the householder eats last, embodying restraint and responsibility.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purana presents dharma as aligned with the Supreme’s sustaining function: protecting dependents and honoring rightful recipients becomes a lived form of devotion to the cosmic preserver.