subhashitawisdomnitihospitality

Atithir Yasya Bhagnasho

Atithir Yasya Bhagnasho in English · English

🕉️ hindu·📿 3× repetitions·🕐 Anytime, especially before receiving guests or while cultivating the spirit of hospitality in the home·📜 Subhashita (Sanskrit niti literature)

Read in your language / script

हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀEnglishසිංහල 𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

✦ Meaning

Atithir Yasya Bhagnasho is a striking Subhashita on the sacred Indian duty of atithi-satkara, the honouring of guests. It declares that a guest turned away disappointed carries off the householder's accumulated merit and leaves behind his own sins. The verse underscores the ancient ideal 'atithi devo bhava' — the guest is to be revered as divine — by spelling out the spiritual cost of failing in hospitality.

Origin & Story

Subhashita (Sanskrit niti literature) · Traditional (anonymous wisdom verse) · Classical Sanskrit literature

Rooted in the Vedic and dharmic ideal of atithi devo bhava — 'treat the guest as God' — this verse belongs to the Subhashita tradition of pithy moral sayings. It dramatises the duty of hospitality by describing the unseen exchange of merit and demerit that follows when a guest is welcomed or, fatefully, turned away with broken hopes, thereby teaching the householder to honour every visitor.

✦ As told in scripture

It is traditionally believed that homes which never turn away a guest are blessed with abundance and grace, while the merit lost in sending away even one disappointed visitor can quietly undo years of virtuous deeds — such is the power the scriptures attach to atithi-satkara.

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The Mantra

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atithir yasya bhagnāśo gṛhāt pratinivartate। sa tasmai duṣkṛtaṁ dattvā puṇyam ādāya gacchati॥

Meaning:The guest who turns back from a house with his hopes broken (turned away unwelcomed) leaves behind for that householder all his own demerits and departs carrying away the householder's merit. The verse warns that to send away a guest disappointed is to lose one's spiritual merit and inherit the guest's sins.

Word-by-Word Meaning

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atithiḥ🔊a guest (one who comes without a fixed appointment)

yasya🔊of whom, from whose

bhagnāśaḥ🔊with hopes broken, disappointed, hopes dashed

gṛhāt🔊from the house, from the home

pratinivartate🔊returns, turns back and goes away

saḥ🔊he, that guest

tasmai🔊to him (the householder)

duṣkṛtam🔊his own sins, his bad deeds, demerit

dattvā🔊having given, leaving behind

puṇyam🔊merit, the fruit of good deeds

ādāya🔊having taken, carrying away

gacchati🔊goes away, departs

Benefits of Chanting Atithir Yasya Bhagnasho

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Reinforces the timeless dharma of welcoming and honouring guests

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Reminds the householder of the spiritual rewards of hospitality

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Cultivates generosity, warmth and selflessness toward all who arrive

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Echoes the Vedic ideal of 'atithi devo bhava' — the guest as divine

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Encourages a household to never turn away the needy or the visitor disappointed

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A vivid reminder that kindness shown to a guest preserves one's own merit

How to Chant Atithir Yasya Bhagnasho

Repetitions3times

Best TimeAnytime, especially before receiving guests or while cultivating the spirit of hospitality in the home

Recite the verse with awareness of its message that a disappointed guest carries away one's merit. Let it inspire a warm, ungrudging welcome to everyone who comes to your door. Reflect on the ancient ideal of atithi-satkara and resolve never to send away a guest or a needy visitor empty-handed or disheartened.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete Atithir Yasya Bhagnasho written in the English script — the same Sanskrit/Hindi verses, transliterated character-by-character so you can read and chant comfortably. Tap any line (or the ▶ button) to hear it recited aloud.

Yes — only the script changes; the words and their meaning are the original. The verse-by-verse meaning, benefits and how-to-chant guidance on this page apply exactly the same.

It means that a guest who leaves a house disappointed (turned away) takes the householder's merit (punya) with him and leaves behind his own demerit (dushkrita). It is a warning about the spiritual loss caused by failing in hospitality.

It upholds the sacred Indian tradition of atithi-satkara — honouring guests. To welcome and care for a guest brings merit, while turning one away disappointed costs one's own punya, reflecting the ideal 'atithi devo bhava,' the guest is like God.

It is a well-known Subhashita from the Sanskrit niti tradition, frequently quoted in teachings on dharma and hospitality and preserved in classical anthologies of moral verses.