Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 42
आतिथ्यग्रहणादेव दीनस्य प्रणतस्य च । युष्मदर्थं मया सम्यगेतत्पाकं समावृतम् । क्रियतां भोजनं भूयो गंतव्यमनु नाकिनाम्
ātithyagrahaṇādeva dīnasya praṇatasya ca | yuṣmadarthaṃ mayā samyagetatpākaṃ samāvṛtam | kriyatāṃ bhojanaṃ bhūyo gaṃtavyamanu nākinām
“ایک غریب اور جھکے ہوئے شخص کی مہمان نوازی قبول کرنے ہی سے ثواب ہے۔ تمہاری خاطر میں نے یہ پکا ہوا کھانا ٹھیک طرح تیار کر کے ڈھانپ رکھا ہے۔ مہربانی فرما کر تناول کرو؛ پھر دیوتاؤں کے ساتھ آگے روانہ ہو جانا۔”
Samudra (Ocean) speaking (in-narrative)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Ṛṣis (frame typical; not explicit in excerpt)
Scene: A humble host speaks earnestly to brāhmaṇas, presenting a large platter of rice-based food, urging them to eat before departing with the gods; the brāhmaṇas weigh compassion against caution.
FAQs
Hospitality (ātithya) is praised as dharma, yet the Mahātmya also warns that dharma must be protected from deception and impurity.
Prabhāsa Kṣetra, where narratives intertwine sacred travel with ethical instruction.
The implied prescription is honoring guests through bhojana (feeding), a central element of gṛhastha-dharma.