Shloka 21

Janamejaya’s Appeal for Pacification and Śaunaka’s Counsel on Humility (जनमेजय-शौनक संवादः)

Devanagari script

ऋषीणां देवतानां च पितृणां च महात्मनाम्‌ । श्रुतः पूर्व मया धर्मो महानतिथिपूजने,“मैंने ऋषियों, देवताओं, पितरों तथा महात्माओंके मुखसे पहले सुना है कि अतिथिकी पूजा करनेमें महान्‌ धर्म है

Transliteration

ṛṣīṇāṃ devatānāṃ ca pitṝṇāṃ ca mahātmanām | śrutaḥ pūrvaṃ mayā dharmo mahān atithipūjane ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Aus dem Mund der Weisen, der Götter und der großherzigen Ahnen habe ich längst diese Lehre vernommen: Im Ehren des Gastes liegt ein erhabenes und schwerwiegendes Dharma. Den Ankommenden ehrfürchtig zu empfangen — ohne Berechnung und ohne Zögern — ist an sich eine große sittliche Pflicht.“

Word by Word

ऋषीणाम्of sages

देवतानाम्of deities

चand

पितृणाम्of the ancestors (pitṛs)

चand

महात्मनाम्of great-souled ones

श्रुतःheard

पूर्वम्formerly / earlier

मयाby me

धर्मःdharma / righteous duty

महान्great

अतिथि-पूजनेin the worship/honouring of a guest

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Rishis

Devas

Pitrs (ancestors)

Mahātmans (great-souled elders)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Honoring and serving a guest (atithi) is presented as a great dharma—an ethically weighty duty validated by revered authorities such as sages, gods, and ancestors.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Bhīṣma cites traditional, authoritative sources to emphasize that atithi-pūjā (reverent hospitality) is a major component of dharma.