Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 45
वैश्वदेवांतरे प्राप्तः सूर्योढो वातिथिः स्मृतः । अतिथेरादितोप्येते भोज्या नात्र विचारणा
vaiśvadevāṃtare prāptaḥ sūryoḍho vātithiḥ smṛtaḥ | atitherāditopyete bhojyā nātra vicāraṇā
وَیشودیو کے نذرانے کے درمیانی وقت میں جو آ جائے—چاہے سورج نکلنے سے پہلے یا طلوعِ آفتاب کے وقت—وہ ‘اَتِتھی’ (مہمان) سمجھا گیا ہے۔ ایسے لوگوں کو، مہمان سے آغاز کرکے، کھانا کھلانا چاہیے؛ اس میں کوئی تردد نہیں۔
Deductive (sectional narration; likely Sūta speaking in a dharma-teaching passage)
Scene: Dawn scene: a traveler arrives at a house during the Vaiśvadeva time; the householder pauses the rite and welcomes him, offering water for feet and a meal; the rising sun at horizon signifies the time definition.
FAQs
Hospitality is non-negotiable: feeding the guest at the proper time is treated as a direct act of dharma.
No specific tīrtha is referenced; the teaching concerns household ritual timing around Vaiśvadeva.
It links the recognition and feeding of an atithi to the Vaiśvadeva time-window and instructs feeding without hesitation.