Shloka 4
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
अविश्वस्तेषु सर्वेषु नित्यं भीतेषु पार्थिव । निकृत्या हन्यमानेषु वज्चयत्सु परस्परम्
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
aviśvasteṣu sarveṣu nityaṁ bhīteṣu pārthiva |
nikṛtyā hanyamāneṣu vañcayatsu parasparam ||
ਯੁਧਿਸ਼ਠਿਰ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਹੇ ਰਾਜਨ! ਜਦੋਂ ਸਭ ਲੋਕ ਬੇਇਤਬਾਰ ਹੋ ਜਾਣ, ਸਦਾ ਡਰੇ ਰਹਿਣ, ਧੋਖੇ ਨਾਲ ਮਾਰੇ ਜਾਣ ਅਤੇ ਇਕ ਦੂਜੇ ਨੂੰ ਠੱਗਣ—ਤਾਂ ਐਸੇ ਅਧਮ ਸਮੇਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣ ਕਿਹੜੇ ਢੰਗ ਨਾਲ ਜੀਵਨ-ਨਿਰਵਾਹ ਕਰੇ?
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral crisis: when society is ruled by fear, distrust, and treachery, even basic duties become uncertain. It raises the ethical problem of how a brāhmaṇa—ideally committed to non-violence, truth, and restraint—can preserve life without abandoning dharma in a time dominated by adharma.
In Śānti Parva’s discourse on governance and righteousness, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a king and describes a breakdown of social trust and safety—people cheat and kill one another through deceit. He asks what practical means of livelihood remain for a brāhmaṇa when public order and moral norms have collapsed.