Verse 3.107

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

आसनावसथौ शय्यामनुव्रज्यामुपासनाम् ।
उत्तमेषूत्तमं कुर्याद् हीने हीनं समे समम् ॥ १०७ ॥

āsanāvasathau śayyāmanuvrajyāmupāsanām |
uttameṣūttamaṃ kuryād hīne hīnaṃ same samam || 107 ||

He should offer seat, room, bed, foliowing and attendance of the best kind to superiors, of the inferior kind to inferiors and of the equal (ordinary) kind to equals.—(107)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

When several guests of several grades—superior, inferior and equal—arrive at the same time, then the seat, &c., that are offered to them should not all be of the same quality; they should be in accordance with their relative merits.

‘Seat’— the mat, and so forth.

‘Room’—place for resting.

‘Bed’—bedstead, &c.

‘Following’— going after him when he goes.

‘Attendance’— keeping near him and entertaining him with conversation.

All this should be ‘of the best kind, to superiors.’ &e.,—i.e., the superior guest should be followed to a great distance; the medium guest, not very far: and the inferior, only a few steps.—(107)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Parāśaramādhava (Ācāra, p. 354) as laying down certain distinctions to he borne in mind in entertaining guests;—in Vīramitrodaya (Āhnika, p. 450), which adds that as regards food and other things, it must he the same for all, specially when they are all dining together in the same line; as specially laid down by Hārīta;—and in Aparārka (p. 156), which adds that the ‘following’ is to be done when the guest departs.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Yājñavalkya (1. 107).—‘The guest shall not be deprived of sweet words, place, straws and water.’

Yājñavalkya (1.113).—After the Śrotriya guest has become satisfied, one should follow him up to the boundary.’

Gautama (5.39,40).—‘Bedding, seat, lodging, following and attendance, in the same manner as in the case of elders;—in the case of inferior persons, all this has to be done even to a small extent.’

Baudhāyana (Vīramitrodaya-Āhnika, p. 452).—‘Both morning and evening, whatever food there may be, with that he shall make the Vaiśvadeva offerings and then entertain, to the best of his capacity, such Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya and Śūdra guests as may happen to arrive; in the event of his being unable to entertain several guests, he may offer the food to only one of them, either to one who may be the best qualified among them, or to him who may have been the first to arrive.’

Śaṅkha-Likhita (Do.).—‘A non-Brāhmaṇa is not to be treated as the guest of a Brāhmaṇa; it is only the learned and highly qualified Brāhmaṇa that deserves the honours of a guest; the Kṣatriya and the Vaiśya are to be received as friends; and the Śūdra is to be entertained only out of kindness and sympathy.’

Śaṅkha (Aparārka, p. 157).—‘One shall sit with him, at night he shall retire to sleep on being permitted by him, rise before him, and follow him when he leaves, turning back only when he asks him to do so.’

Parāśara (1.43-44).—‘When a guest arrives, one shall receive him with warm welcome and honour him with the offering of water and seat and also with washing of feet, shall offer food with respect and sweet-worded enquiries, and shall follow him when he leaves; by these he shall win his good will.’