Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 27
सुतेन किल जातेन जायते चानृणः पिता । सत्यं करिष्ये तद्वाक्यं संतर्प्यातिथिमुत्तमम्
sutena kila jātena jāyate cānṛṇaḥ pitā | satyaṃ kariṣye tadvākyaṃ saṃtarpyātithimuttamam
“یقیناً بیٹے کی پیدائش سے باپ قرض سے آزاد ہو جاتا ہے۔ میں اس قول کو سچ کر دکھاؤں گا—اس بہترین مہمان کو آداب کے ساتھ سیر کر کے۔”
Kamaṭha
Listener: Hārīta (and implicitly the atithi)
Scene: Kamaṭha speaks with firm conviction, as if taking a vow; the father watches with approval; the guest is honored as ‘uttama atithi’.
FAQs
A householder perfects dharma by honoring and satisfying a worthy guest; such hospitality is treated as a sacred obligation.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; the emphasis is on universal atithi-dharma within the Skanda Purana’s dharmic teaching.
The prescription is ‘saṃtarpana’—properly gratifying the guest through respectful reception and fitting offering (hospitality/feeding).