Subhashithaani-Quotable quotes

March 27, 2009

26. arou api uchitham kaaryam aaThithye graham aagathe

ChethuH paarsvagathaam Chaayaam na upasamharathe

dhrumaH

Even if he is an enemy, when he comes to our house we should show hospitality. The tree does not withhold its shadow even to the one who has come to cut it.

aThithisathkaara or hospitality is emphasized in the sasthras. The good hearted ones do not turn away any one who comes to them even if they were enemies. There is a beautiful story in Ramayana to illustrate this with respect to the incident of Vibheeshana saranagathi, which is the kudos of all the incidents which made the Ramayana a sarangathisastra.

Vibheeshana came seeking refuge to Rama and Sugriva and others except Hanuman advised against it. Rama quotes a story to show that even an enemy should be accepted when he seeks asylum. A hunter caught the female dove and came to take shelter under the tree where the male was. The female which was caught in his net spoke to the male to provide fire for him because he had come to their abode and hence an athithi. The male gathered some sticks and made a fire for the hunter who was shivering in the cold, and seeing the hunter hungry the doves sacrificed themselves to satisfy his hunger by falling into the fire. Rama asked whether he was inferior even to a dove.

Seetha also tells a story to Hanuman , who wanted to kill the rakshasis who tormented her. Seetha said that once a man climbed a tree to escape from a tiger and saw a bear there and was frightened. But the bear assured him that it would protect him. When he slept with faith the tiger asked the bear to push him down but the bear refused saying that it would not forsake one who came seeking refuge.

Then the bear slept and the tiger repeated the plea to the man to push the bear, eating it the tiger said, it would go away and he would be safe. The man pushed the bear but it caught the branch and escaped falling. Then the tiger told the bear to push the man who was ungrateful. But the bear said that the man was his guest and he would protect him.