Atithi Devo Bhavah

"Atithi Devo Bhavah'
Guest is God

In Sanskrit, 'A_tithi' means 'Guest without appointment arrive to house' and ' Devo ' means ‘God'.
Hospitality of Indian people is very well known. They are freindly and kind towards visitors / guests. Moreover, every Indian state has an unique distinct style of everything, be it language, food, dressing, dance, songs etc. But there is one thing in common among all the Indian people, they treat their guests as god as per their state tradition and rituals.
What and who is Athithi ? Athithi means A-thithi or the person who arrives at our house without a thithi or an appointment. In other words, guest is not the exact translation of athithi which has been followed in Hindu culture and tradition from time immemorial. Let us take the example of Karna who sacrificed his son Biswak Sen to satisfy the hunger of Vishnu who was in disguise of a Brahmin. Let us take the example of Harishchandra or Bali Maharaj who sacrificed everything of their life including wife, son and themselves in order to satisfy the athithi. Meaning thereby Athithi who comes to our place without an appointment is to be worshipped at the cost of our comfort, whatever may be the circumstances.