०५ आतिथ्यम्

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).

उक्तम् इदम् उत्तरार्थम् अनूद्यते । न कश्चिद् अतिथिर् अनर्चितो गृहे वसेत् । सर्वो ऽतिथिर् अर्चितो गृहे वसनीयः । शक्तितः । एको द्वौ बहवो यावन्तः शक्यन्ते ऽर्चयितुं सर्वे आसनादिभिर् अर्चनीयाः । अर्चापूर्वकम् एतद् एभ्यो वसतां प्रकल्पयितुम्,¹ न तु सर्वेण सर्वम् आसनाशनशय्यानां स्वत्वनिर्वृत्तिर्² उच्यते । भक्तयूषमांसान्नाज्याशनासंभवे पृथग् उपादानात् मूलफलं दातव्यम् ॥ ४.२९ ॥

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)

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

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.’

029 No guest must stay in his house without being honoured, according to his ability, with a seat, food, a couch, water, or roots and fruits.

He shall not honour, even with speech, impostors, those who follow improper occupations, those who are cat-like in their behaviour, hypocrites, logicians, and those who behave like herons.—(30)

NOTE: Pages 336 and 337 are missing from the book. Please email me if you have a copy of the text.

• तद् अयुक्तम् । अर्चनीयतात्र निवार्यते । न तु सर्वेण सर्वभक्ताद्यदानम् एवोच्यते । दिवापि भुञ्जानानां कतिचित् क्षणावास उपपद्यते एव । अतो न लिङ्गं सायंकालस्य “वसेत्” इति ।

• तत्र पाषण्डिनो³ बाह्यलिङ्गिनो रक्तपटनग्नचरकादयः । विकर्मस्था अत्रानापदि ये वर्णान्तरवृत्त्या जीवन्ति । यथा ब्राह्मणः क्षत्रवृत्त्या, क्षत्रियो वैश्यवृत्त्या इत्यादि⁴ । बैडालव्रतिका दाम्भिकाः । ये च लोकावर्जनार्थम् अग्निहोत्राद्य् अनुतिष्ठन्ति, इति गृहादि लिप्सामह इति, न शास्त्रचोदितत्वेन स्वधर्मतया । शठा येषाम् अन्यत् हृदये ऽन्यद् वाचि । उपकारं कस्यचित् प्रतिज्ञाय कर्तव्यतया अवधीरयन्ति, न कुर्वन्ति । हैतुका नास्तिकाः । नास्ति परलोकः, नास्ति दत्तम्, नास्ति हुतम् इत्य् एवं स्थितप्रज्ञाः । बकवृत्तयः दाम्भिका एव, ईषद्भेदभिन्नः । भेदः परस्परं दर्शयिष्यते । वाङ्मात्रेणापि । तिष्ठतु तावद् आसनादिदानम्, पूजापूर्वकं “स्वागतम् आस्यताम् अत्र” इत्य् एवमाद्य् अपि न वक्तव्याः । अन्नदानं तु श्वपचादिवद् इष्यते । तथा च भगवान् कृष्णद्वैपायनो ऽन्नदानम् एवाधिकृत्य स्मरति स्म- “न पृच्छेज् जन्म न श्रुतम्” इति । नात्र पात्रगवेषणा कर्तव्येत्य् अर्थः ॥ ४.३० ॥

In view of the implied meaning of the terms ‘shall dwell,’ people have taken this verse to mean that one shall…..

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NOTE: Pages 336 and 337 are missing from the book. Please email me if you have a copy of the text.

‘Pāṣaṇḍinaḥ’—‘Ascetics who wander about with external marks, such as nakedness, red-dresses, and so forth’ (Medhātithi, who does not explain the term as ‘non-brahmanical ascetics,’ as asserted by Buhler,—and also Govindarāja);—‘Śākyas, Bhikṣus, Kṣapaṇakas and other ascetics outside the Vedic pale’ (Kullūka and Nārāyaṇa);—‘those who do not believe in the Vedas’ (Rāghavānanda). The ‘vāhyaliṅgin’ does not mean, as Hopkins says, ‘those who bear the token of outcastes’; what is really meant is the person who, without possessing any real asceticism of the heart, makes a show of it, by wearing external marks.

This verse is quoted in Aparārka (p. 170), which explains ‘vikarmasthān’ as ‘those addicted to such acts as are forbidden—in Mitākṣarā (on l. 130), which explains ‘haituka’ as ‘one who, by argumentation, raises doubts about everything’, — ‘pāṣaṇḍinaḥ’ as ‘those-who have recourse to such life-conditions as are opposed to the dictates of the Vedas—and in Smṛtisāroddhāra (p. 319).

Yājñavalkya (1.130).—‘One should always exclude the hypocrite, the logician, the impostor and those who behave like the heron.’

Viṣṇudharmottara (Aparārka, p. 171).—‘The man who transgresses all laws laid down in the Śruti and the Smṛti, relating to the division of castes and life-stages, and acts as he likes, relying upon false reasonings, addicted to evil deeds, deluded with overweening opinion of his own reasoning powers, is the Pāṣaṇḍin, wicked, fit for hell, the lowest of men. With such men and with the Vaiḍālavratas one shall never have any intercourse.’

Viṣṇupurāṇa (Do.).—[Same as Manu.]

030 Let him not honour, even by a greeting, heretics, men who follow forbidden occupations, men who live like cats, rogues, logicians, (arguing against the Veda,) and those who live like herons.

Those who have become Snatakas after studying the Veda, or after completing their vows, (and) householders, who are Srotriyas, one must worship by (gifts of food) sacred to gods and manes, but one must avoid those who are different.—(31)

Note: The above is an alternate translation by George Bühler.

NOTE: Pages 336 and 337 are missing from the book. Please email me if you have a copy of the text.

वेदश् च विद्या च व्रतानि च, तैः स्नाताः, तत्र परिसमाप्तिं गताः । विविधा स्नातका गृह्यन्ते । तत्र वेदस्नातका अधीतवेदाः । विद्यास्नातका विद्यार्थजिज्ञासानिवृत्ताः⁵ । विद्यासंनिधानाद् वेदविषयैव गृह्यते । तस्या एव वस्तुतो विद्यात्वम् । व्रतानि “षट्त्रिंशदाब्दिकम्” (म्ध् ३.१) इत्यादीनि । सत्याम् अपि वेदतदर्थजिज्ञासासमाप्तौ न तावत्य् एव स्नानम्, किं तर्हि षट्त्रिंशदब्दादिकालः पूरयितव्यः इति पक्षो ऽप्य् अस्ति ।

• अन्ये तु ये ऽनधीत्यैव वेदं वर्षत्रयात् स्नान्ति ते व्रतस्नातका इत्य् आचक्ष्यन्ते ।

• अनधीतवेदस्य कुतः स्नानम् इत्य् अपक्षो ऽयम् ।

• ननु च श्रोत्रियग्रहणं किम् अर्थं स्नातकत्वेनैव सिद्धत्वात् ।

• अतिशयार्थम् । तेन वेदाभ्यासरता गृह्यन्ते श्रोत्रियाः ।

• गृहमेधिनो गृहस्थाः । नानेन भिक्षुतापसब्रह्मचारिणाम् अपूजनीयत्वम् उच्यते, किं तर्हि भैक्ष्यभोजित्वात् तेषां नातिथित्वसंभवः । ब्रह्मचारिणो गुरुगृहात् तापसस्य च वनान् नान्यत्र वासः । प्रव्रजितस्यापि “भैक्षार्थी ग्रामम् इयात्” (ग्ध् ३.१४) इति न ग्रामे वासः । अतो ऽन्येषाम् आश्रमिणां गृहाद् अन्यत्र वासात् कथम्चित् संभवे ऽपि प्रायिकम् एतद् गृहमेधिन इति । हव्येन कव्येन । दैवकर्मणि शान्त्यादौ पित्र्ये वा श्राद्धे त एव पूज्याः । विपरीताः अस्नातकाः वर्ज्याः पूर्वोक्तदोषाभावे ऽपि ॥ ४.३१ ॥

NOTE: Pages 336 and 337 are missing from the book. Please email me if you have a copy of the text.

… Answer:—The term has been added for the purpose of laying stress upon the fact that those persons are meant who still keep up their study of the Veda.

‘Householders.’—This does not mean that the mendicant, the ascetic and the student are not to be honoured; all that is meant is that, since all these live upon alms, they cannot be regarded as ‘guests;’ especially as the student cannot dwell anywhere else except at his teacher’s house, and the ascetic cannot dwell away from the forests. For the Renunciate also, dwelling in villages is not possible, since it has been distinctly declared that ‘he shall go to the village only when seeking for alms’ (Gautama, 3. 14). From all this it follows that, in view of the fact that persons in the other stages of life live in places other than ‘households,’—even though it be somehow possible for them to have the character of ‘guests,’—what is said here can apply to householders only, as a rule.

‘With offerings to Gods, and to Pitṛs.’—That is, these persons are to be received and honoured at the performance of rites in honour of Gods and of Pitṛs.

‘Otherwise.’—Those who are not ‘accomplished,’ should be avoided, even though they be free from the aforesaid defects (described in 30).—(31)

This verse is quoted in Hemādri (Śrāddha, p. 182).

Laghuśātātapa (78, 83).—‘If, in the matter of feeding and gifts, one ignores a Brāhmaṇa Student who may happen to be at hand, he destroys his family up to the seventh generation. If a Vedic Scholar, accomplished in the Veda, in learning and in observances, come to one’s house, all the vegetables become delighted at the prospect of reaching the highest state.’

Bṛhad-Yama (42, 43).—‘The man who is free from jealousies, who is of good character, a Vedic Scholar cognisant of Brahman, young and endowed with learning and modesty is the proper recipient, the best of the twice-born. He who is conversant with the Vedanta, who is Jyeṣṭhasāman, free from avarice, devoted to the Veda, is the person who should be employed with special effort in the rites offered to gods and Pitṛs.’

031 Those who have become Snatakas after studying the Veda, or after completing their vows, (and) householders, who are Srotriyas, one must worship by (gifts of food) sacred to gods and manes, but one must avoid those who are different.