Shloka 50
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
आतिदथ्यं कृतमिच्छामि त्वयाद्य वरवर्णिनि । प्रमाणं यदि धर्मस्ते गृहस्थाभ्रमसम्मत:
ātithyaṁ kṛtam icchāmi tvayādya varavarṇini | pramāṇaṁ yadi dharmas te gṛhasthābhramasammataḥ ||
“اے خوش رنگ و خوب صورت خاتون! اگر تمہارے نزدیک گِرہستھوں کے تسلیم شدہ آچار-دھرم ہی معیار ہے، تو آج میں تمہارے کیے ہوئے مہمان نوازی کے سَتکار کو قبول کرنا چاہتا ہوں۔”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hospitality (ātithya) is treated as a concrete expression of dharma, and its legitimacy is grounded in an accepted social-ethical standard—here, the norms approved within gṛhastha-dharma (householder conduct).
Bhīṣma addresses a noble lady and states that he wishes to accept the hospitality she has offered, framing his acceptance in terms of what is considered authoritative and proper according to the householders’ code of dharma.