Shloka 18
युधिष्ठिर महानेष धर्मो धर्मभूतां वर । गोघ्नेष्वपि भवेदस्मिन्निष्कृति: पापकर्मण:,धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ युधिष्ठिर| यह शरणागतका पालन महान् धर्म है। ऐसा करनेसे गोवध करनेवाले पुरुषोंके पापका भी प्रायश्रित्त हो जाता है
yudhiṣṭhira mahān eṣa dharmo dharmabhūtāṃ vara | goghneṣv api bhaved asmin niṣkṛtiḥ pāpakarmaṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “O Yudhiṣṭhira, best among the righteous, this is indeed a great dharma: the protection of one who has sought refuge. When this is practiced, it becomes an expiation even for those stained by grievous sins—yes, even for a killer of cows.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Protecting a person who has sought refuge is presented as a supreme moral duty. The text emphasizes its transformative ethical power: such protection functions as a means of expiation, capable of cleansing even very grave wrongdoing.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising King Yudhiṣṭhira. Here he highlights the duty of safeguarding the surrendered/refuge-seeker and underscores its merit by stating that it can atone for even severe sins like cow-killing.