Atithi devo bhava
Topic: India, a Home to Many: Diasporas and Refuge · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 5 "India, a Home to Many"
Meaning
Atithi devo bhava is a Sanskrit saying from the Taittiriya Upanishad. It means "a guest is like God". The NCERT gives it as one of the values behind India's long habit of welcoming outsiders. Other values it names are sarve bhavantu sukhinah ("may all creatures be happy") and the Buddhist idea of loving-kindness. Together, these explain why so many persecuted groups (groups treated cruelly for their faith or identity) found a home in India.
Example
The Parsis left Persia after the Arab conquest and reached coastal Gujarat between the 8th and 10th centuries. There, Jadi Rana of Sanjan gave them a safe place to live. This story shows the guest-is-God value in practice.
Don't confuse with
- Vasudhaiva kutumbakam: means "the whole world is family" and is quoted from the Hitopadesha. It is about all of humanity being one family, while atithi devo bhava is about how to treat a guest.