Text 43
api svit parya-bhuṅkthās tvaṁ
sambhojyān vṛddha-bālakān
jugupsitaṁ karma kiñcit
kṛtavān na yad akṣamam
api svit — if it were so that; parya — by leaving aside; bhuṅkthāḥ — have dined; tvam — yourself; sambhojyān — deserving to dine together; vṛddha — the old men; bālakān — boys; jugupsitam — abominable; karma — action; kiñcit — something; kṛtavān — you must have done; na — not; yat — that which; akṣamam — unpardonable.
Have you not taken care of old men and boys who deserve to dine with you? Have you left them and taken your meals alone? Have you committed some unpardonable mistake which is considered to be abominable?
It is the duty of a householder to feed first of all the children, the old members of the family, the brāhmaṇas and the invalids. Besides that, an ideal householder is required to call for any unknown hungry man to come and dine before he himself goes to take his meals. He is required to call for such a hungry man thrice on the road. The neglect of this prescribed duty of a householder, especially in the matter of the old men and children, is unpardonable.