Shloka 13
जापक–इक्ष्वाकु–सत्यविवादः
The Jāpaka, Ikṣvāku, and the Dispute on Truth and Merit
इस विषयमें ये श्लोक प्रसिद्ध हैं-- जिस गृहस्थके दरवाजेसे कोई अतिथि भिक्षा न पानेके कारण निराश होकर लौट जाता है, वह उस गृहस्थको अपना पाप दे उसका पुण्य लेकर चला जाता है ।।
bharadvāja uvāca | asmin viṣaye ime ślokāḥ prasiddhāḥ— yasya gṛhasthasya dvārāt kaścid atithiḥ bhikṣām alabhitvā nirāśaḥ pratinivartate, sa tasmai gṛhasthāya svaṃ pāpaṃ dattvā tasya puṇyaṃ gṛhītvā gacchati || api cātra yajñakriyābhiḥ devatāḥ prīyante | nivāpena pitaraḥ | vidyābhyāsa-śravaṇa-dhāraṇena ṛṣayaḥ | apatyotpādanena prajāpatiḥ iti |
婆罗陀婆阇说道：“关于此事，众所周知有偈云：若有宾客因未得施舍而失望离开家住者之门，则彼宾客离去时，先将自身之罪付与家主，而夺取家主之福德而去。又，居家之道中，诸天因祭祀仪轨（yajña）而欢喜；祖灵因供献与奠祭而欢喜；诸仙圣（ṛṣi）因听闻、修习并持守圣学而欢喜；而生主（Prajāpati）因繁衍子嗣而欢喜。”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
A householder must not let a guest depart unserved; neglecting hospitality causes the householder to lose merit and incur the guest’s demerit. The verse also summarizes the householder’s key obligations: sacrifice for the gods, offerings for ancestors, study for the seers, and procreation for Prajāpati.
Bharadvāja is instructing on gṛhastha-dharma within the Śānti Parva’s ethical discourse, using a well-known maxim about the moral consequences of refusing alms to a guest and then listing how different sacred stakeholders (gods, ancestors, seers, Prajāpati) are satisfied through specific household duties.