Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.13.7

taḿ bhuktavantaḿ viśrāntam

āsīnaḿ sukham āsane

praśrayāvanato rājā

prāha teṣāḿ ca śṛṇvatām

SYNONYMS

tam — him (Vidura); bhuktavantam — after feeding him sumptuously; viśrāntam — and having taken rest; āsīnam — being seated; sukham āsane — on a comfortable seat; praśraya-avanataḥ — naturally very gentle and meek; rājā — King Yudhiṣṭhira; prāha — began to speak; teṣām ca — and by them; śṛṇvatām — being heard.

TRANSLATION

After Vidura ate sumptuously and took sufficient rest, he was comfortably seated. Then the King began to speak to him, and all who were present there listened.

PURPORT

King Yudhiṣṭhira was expert in reception also, even in the case of his family members. Vidura was well received by all the family members by exchange of embraces and obeisances. After that, bathing and arrangements for a sumptuous dinner were made, and then he was given sufficient rest. After finishing his rest, he was offered a comfortable place to sit, and then the King began to talk about all happenings, both family and otherwise. That is the proper way to receive a beloved friend, or even an enemy. According to Indian moral codes, even an enemy received at home should be so well received that he will not feel any fearful situation. An enemy is always afraid of his enemy, but this should not be so when he is received at home by his enemy. This means that a person, when received at home, should be treated as a relative, so what to speak of a family member like Vidura, who was a well-wisher for all the members of the family. Thus Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja began to speak in the presence of all the other members.