Shloka 21
Janamejaya’s Appeal for Pacification and Śaunaka’s Counsel on Humility (जनमेजय-शौनक संवादः)
ऋषीणां देवतानां च पितृणां च महात्मनाम् । श्रुतः पूर्व मया धर्मो महानतिथिपूजने,“मैंने ऋषियों, देवताओं, पितरों तथा महात्माओंके मुखसे पहले सुना है कि अतिथिकी पूजा करनेमें महान् धर्म है
ṛṣīṇāṃ devatānāṃ ca pitṝṇāṃ ca mahātmanām | śrutaḥ pūrvaṃ mayā dharmo mahān atithipūjane ||
“میں نے رِشیوں، دیوتاؤں اور عظیم النفس پِتروں کے لبوں سے پہلے ہی سنا ہے کہ مہمان کی پوجا و آدر میں عظیم دھرم ہے۔”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Honoring and serving a guest (atithi) is presented as a great dharma—an ethically weighty duty validated by revered authorities such as sages, gods, and ancestors.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Bhīṣma cites traditional, authoritative sources to emphasize that atithi-pūjā (reverent hospitality) is a major component of dharma.