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अथर्ववेद - काण्ड 9/ सूक्त 5/ मन्त्र 38
सूक्त - भृगुः
देवता - अजः पञ्चौदनः
छन्दः - एकावसाना द्विपदा साम्नी त्रिष्टुप्
सूक्तम् - अज सूक्त
तास्ते॑ रक्षन्तु॒ तव॒ तुभ्य॑मे॒तं ता॑भ्य॒ आज्यं॑ ह॒विरि॒दं जु॑होमि ॥
स्वर सहित पद पाठता: । ते॒ । र॒क्ष॒न्तु॒ । तव॑ । तुभ्य॑म् । ए॒तम् । ताभ्य॑: । आज्य॑म् । ह॒वि: । इ॒दम् । जु॒हो॒मि॒ ॥५.३८॥
स्वर रहित मन्त्र
तास्ते रक्षन्तु तव तुभ्यमेतं ताभ्य आज्यं हविरिदं जुहोमि ॥
स्वर रहित पद पाठता: । ते । रक्षन्तु । तव । तुभ्यम् । एतम् । ताभ्य: । आज्यम् । हवि: । इदम् । जुहोमि ॥५.३८॥
अथर्ववेद - काण्ड » 9; सूक्त » 5; मन्त्र » 38
Subject - Atithi Yajna: Hospitality
Meaning -
O Lord, may those quarters of space, interspaces and the divine and human powers therein protect and promote this immortal soul in the mortal state. It is yours, it is for you, it is for them, the spaces, the divinities, and humanity. I offer this soul as the holy material of oblation dedicated to your service and all these. This sukta is a celebration of hospitality to Atithis, chance visitors, who happen to come to the household during their holy rounds. This hospitality is called Atithi Yajna prescribed as a sacred duty in the Vedic tradition. Atithi Yajna is one of the five sacred duties to be performed by a house holder: Brahma yajna (Prayer), Deva yajna (agnihotra), Pitryajna (service to parents and other seniors), Atithiyajna (hospitality to visitors), and Balivaishvadeva yajna (feeding birds and animals. Atithi yajna as described in detail in this sukta is so sacred that it is a microcosmic version of the macrocosmic yajna which, in the Vedic tradition, the universe is. Brahma, Lord Supreme, is the performer of the macrocosmic yajna, and Brahma also is the supreme deity for which the yajna is performed. By analogy, in Atithi yajna, both the host and the guest are human versions of Brahma, one the performer, the other, the beneficiary. The sukta has 62 mantras divided over six parts. The part is called ‘Paryaya’. Paryaya 1