Shloka 18
शल्मलि–पवनसंवादः
The Dialogue of Śalmali and Pavana
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 ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: «Oh Yudhiṣṭhira, el mejor entre los justos, este es en verdad un gran dharma: proteger a quien ha buscado refugio. Cuando se practica, se vuelve expiación incluso para quienes están manchados por graves pecados—sí, incluso para un matador de vacas».
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.