Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 141
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
जब गृहस्थोंके यहाँ रसोईघरका धुआँ निकलना बंद हो जाय
yadā gṛhasthānāṃ gṛheṣu mahānasa-dhūmo niḥsaraṇaṃ nivartate, musalena dhānya-kuṭanasyāpi śabdo na śrūyate—sarvatra śāntiḥ syāt; cullī-agniḥ praśāmyati; gṛhasthāḥ sarve bhojanaṃ kṛtvā nivṛttāḥ syuḥ; bhājanānāṃ paritaḥ parivahanaṃ na pravartate; bhikṣavaś ca bhikṣāṃ yācitvā nivṛttā bhavanti—tāvat kālaṃ ṛṣīn atithīṃś ca pratīkṣeta, tataḥ śeṣa-bhūtaṃ annaṃ svayaṃ gṛhṇīyāt. evaṃ kṛtvā satya-dharme ’nurāgī śāntaḥ puruṣo muni-dharma-yukto bhavati, muni-dharma-pālanasya phalaṃ labhate. yasya darpo nāsti nābhimānaḥ, yo na aprasannaḥ na vismitaḥ, yaḥ śatru-mitrayoḥ samadarśī sarva-bhūteṣu maitrī-bhāvaṃ dhārayati, sa eva dharma-vettṛṣu uttama ṛṣiḥ.
摩醯湿伐罗曰：当居士之家，厨烟不复上腾，杵舂之声不再闻而寂然四合；当灶火已熄；当一家之人皆已食毕；当器皿往来搬运已止；当乞者求施既毕而去——直至此时，当守候圣仙与宾客；然后方可自取所余之食。如此行者，安静而爱慕真实之法者，便与牟尼之戒律相应，得修行者生活之果报。凡无骄矜与我慢，不郁郁寡欢亦不轻易惊诧，视友与敌同等，并对一切众生怀善意者——乃诸知法者中之最上，真为智者之仙。
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A householder should prioritize hospitality and almsgiving: wait until the day’s opportunities to feed sages, guests, and mendicants have passed, and only then eat what remains. The deeper ethic is humility and universal friendliness—freedom from pride, steady composure, and equal regard for friend and enemy—presented as the mark of a true knower of dharma.
Maheshvara instructs on proper conduct for householders. He describes practical signs that the household’s meal-service has ended (no kitchen smoke, no pounding, fire out, utensils stilled, beggars gone) and says one should keep watch for late-arriving sages/guests until then. He concludes by defining the inner qualities that complete this outer practice: egolessness, emotional steadiness, impartiality, and benevolence.