Shloka 5
कपोती-विलापः स्वर्गसंयोगश्च
The Dove’s Lament and Celestial Reunion
यह भी सुना जाता है कि एक कबूतरने शरणमें आये हुए शत्रुका यथायोग्य सत्कार किया था और अपना मांस खानेके लिये उसको निमन्त्रित किया था ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kathaṃ kapotena purā śatruḥ śaraṇam āgataḥ | svamāṃsaṃ bhojitaḥ kāṃ ca gatiṃ lebhe sa bhārata ||
Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “O inapo ni Bharata, paano noong unang panahon tinanggap ng isang kalapati ang kaaway na dumulog upang magkanlungan, at paano nito siya pinakain ng sariling laman? At anong mapalad na hantungan ang natamo ng kalapati dahil doon?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-question about śaraṇāgata—one who seeks refuge—even if that person is an enemy. It highlights the ideal that protection and hospitality to the vulnerable can demand personal sacrifice, and that such conduct leads to a higher spiritual destiny (sadgati).
Yudhiṣṭhira asks his interlocutor to recount an ancient episode: a pigeon honored an enemy who came for refuge and fed him with its own flesh. He also asks what ultimate fate or merit the pigeon gained by this extraordinary act.