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 ||
Wika ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “O pinakamainam sa mga Bharata, ano ang tunay na gantimpala ng mga nagtatanggol sa mga nilalang na dumulog upang magkanlong—sa apat na uri ng may-buhay: yaong mula sa itlog, mula sa sinapupunan, mula sa halumigmig/pawis, at yaong sumisibol mula sa lupa (mga halaman)?”
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.