Shloka 2
Brāhmaṇa-mahattva and Atithi-Dharma
Brahmagītā: Praise of Brāhmaṇas and norms of honor
शरणागतं ये रक्षन्ति भूतग्रामं चतुर्विधम् | कि तस्य भरतश्रेष्ठ फलं भवति तत्त्वतः
śaraṇāgataṃ ye rakṣanti bhūtagrāmaṃ caturvidham | kiṃ tasya bharataśreṣṭha phalaṃ bhavati tattvataḥ ||
Юдхиштхира сказал: «О лучший из Бхаратов, какова поистине награда тех, кто защищает пришедших под покров — четырёхчастное сообщество живых существ: рождающихся из яйца, из чрева, из влаги и из земли (растений)?»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds a key dharmic principle: protecting those who seek refuge—indeed, safeguarding living beings—is a morally weighty act whose true spiritual and ethical ‘fruit’ should be understood in its real nature (tattvataḥ).
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses an elder authority (called ‘best of the Bharatas’) and asks what reward accrues to people who protect creatures that have come seeking shelter, introducing a discussion on the merit and duty of refuge-protection.