Verse 3.105

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

अप्रणोद्योऽतिथिः सायं सूर्यौढो गृहमेधिना ।
काले प्राप्तस्त्वकाले वा नास्यानश्नन् गृहे वसेत् ॥ १०५ ॥

apraṇodyo'tithiḥ sāyaṃ sūryauḍho gṛhamedhinā |
kāle prāptastvakāle vā nāsyānaśnan gṛhe vaset || 105 ||

The guest brought by the sun in the evening should not be driven away by the house-holder. Arrived in time, or not in time, he shall not stay in his house without taking food.—(105)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

‘Evening’—is the time of sunset, the beginning of night. At that time if a guest arrives, he ‘should not be driven away’ he should not be refused admission; i.e., he should be entertained with food, bed, seat, and so forth.—“By whom ?”—‘By the householder’—‘medha’ means sacrifice; ‘gṛhamedha’ is the name applied to the Five Great Sacrifices; one who is entitled to these is the ‘gṛhamedhin,’ the Householder.

‘Brought by the sun’—this is purely laudatory. ‘Brought’—made to arrive—‘by the sun.’ Being brought by a god, he certainly deserves honour.

‘In time’—i.e., the second part of the day; the time at which the Vaiśvadeva offerings are made. ‘Not in time’—in the evening; after breakfast has been finished.

‘He should not stay in his’— the householder’s—‘house, without taking food.’ If there is any food left, that should be offered to him; if not, food should be cooked afresh.—(105)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 351), which explains ‘Sūryoḍha’ as ‘one who has been brought to the house by the Sun who has rendered the man incapable of proceeding further on his journey—and in Vīramitrodaya (Āhnika, p. 440), which reproduces the exact words of Parāśaramādhava, just quoted.

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 152), as laying down that the guest must he fed.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Vaśiṣṭha (8.8).—[Reproduces the second-half of Manu.]

Vaśiṣṭha (8.4, 5).—‘One shall not reject a guest who has arrived in the evening; he shall not live in the house without taking his food.’

Viṣṇu (67.29, 30).—‘If a guest arrives in the evening, he should be welcomed with great regard; one should not permit a guest to reside in the house unless he takes his food.’

Yājñavalkya (1.107).—‘The guest arrived in the evening shall not he deprived of place, sweet words and water.’

Pracetas (Vīramitrodaya-Āhnika, p. 440).—‘One who arrives after the Vaiśvadeva offerings, or in the evening, should be honoured as a god,—he being called a guest brought by the sun.’

Āpastamba (Aparārka, p. 152).—‘If any one comes seeking for food, the master and mistress of the house shall not refuse him; if there is no food, they should offer place, water, grasses and sweet words.’