Importance of Hospitality in Mahabharata Epic

History of Medical Tourism, Health and Wellness Tourism in Mahabharata Epic , India -12

History of Medical Tourism, Health and Wellness Tourism in India, South Asia   -21

 By: Bhishma Kukreti (Medical Tourism Historian)

  Welcoming and caring the guests is very old tradition in India.  In Taittriya Upanishad there is a sholka as under

मातृदेवो भव: Mother is God

पित्रि देवो भव : Father is God

आचार्य देवो भव : Teacher is God

अतिथि देवो भव : Guest is God

(Taittriya Upanishad 1, 11.2)

Atithi means that does not have any date for arriving or that arrives  by without prior information  too.

 In Mahabharata, there are many instances wherein the treatment to guests is given the most than life itself.

  Dying Bhishma tells the importance of hospitality to Yudhishthira in Anushasan Parva chapter 649. Bhishma tell the story of  Sudarshn . Once , a guest came to his house and wife of Suarshan id not care for her husband but cared the Brahmin guest.  Brahmin aske wife of Sudarshn as Bhiksha. Suarshan became ready  for offering his wife. Guest was in fact the incarnated Dharma. Deities and goddesses threw flowers on Sudarshan for his devotion to the guest.

    Bhishma told to Yudhishthira that serving the guest is as good as serving the Almighty.  As per Mahabharata, the guest server wins the death. Serving guest is nothing but worshipping the God. it is said in this chapter that that serves the guest well gets heaven (Punya lok)  It is said in the above chapter of Mahabharata that that does not serve the guest is sin .

Copyright @ Bhishma Kukreti, //2018

  History of Medical, health and Wellness Tourism in India will be continued in – 22

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