Verse 4.29 [Attending upon Guests]

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

आसनाशनशय्याभिरद्भिर्मूलफलेन वा ।
नास्य कश्चिद् वसेद् गेहे शक्तितोऽनर्चितोऽतिथिः ॥ २९ ॥

āsanāśanaśayyābhiradbhirmūlaphalena vā |
nāsya kaścid vased gehe śaktito'narcito'tithiḥ || 29 ||

No guest shall dwell in his house without being honoured, to the best of his ability, with seat, food, bed, or with water, fruits and roots.—(29).

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

What is said here has already been said before; it is reiterated here for the purpose of laying down the additional details that follow.

‘No guest shall dwell in his house unhonoured.’—That is, all guests should be lodged in the house after being honoured.

‘To the best of his ability.’— One or two, or several,—as many as can he duly honoured—shall be honoured with seat and other things. What is meant is that when guests are living in one’s house, all these things should be provided for them, in a respectful manner; it does not mean that one should give away one’s proprietary right over all these articles in.the house. Since ‘fruits and roots’ have been mentioned separately, it follows that these are to be given only in the event of other kinds of food, in the shape of rice, juice, meat and butter, being not available.—(29)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Hemādri (Dāna, p. 677 and Śrāddha, p. 438).

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Āpastamba Dharmasūtra (2.21.1).—‘In the absence of all else, a place, water, agreeable speech,—at least these should not fail towards one who resides in his house; one should eat what has been left by the guests; no such sweet dishes should one eat in his house as have not been partaken of by the guest.’

Viṣṇu (59.26-27).—‘Though breathing, he does not live who makes no offerings to gods, guests, dependents, Pitṛs and his own self. The Religious Student, the Renunciate and the Hermit derive their sustenance from the Householder; hence when these happen to arrive at one’s house, he shall not disregard them.’

Do. (67.30, 40, 42, 43).—‘One shall not permit a guest to live in the house without feeding him. The foolish man who eats food without offering it to these knows not that he is himself being devoured by dogs and vultures. After that the husband and wife shall eat what remains. The Householder shall eat what is left after offerings have been made to gods, Pitṛs, men, dependents and the household-deities. The food prescribed for the good consists in the remnant of the sacrificial offering.’

Do. (67.32-33).—‘Never without having given; never without pouring the oblation into fire.’

Mahābhārata (12.249.5, 7, 12, 13).—‘One shall not have food cooked for himself alone; one shall not needlessly kill animals;—no Brāhmaṇa should reside in his house, without being honoured and fed. He shall always feed upon Vighasa and upon Amṛta—Amṛta being the remnant of sacrifices; and the eating of it is like the eating of sacrificial food. He who eats what has been left after all dependents have been fed is said to feed on Vighasa.’