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 ||
由提施提罗说道：“婆罗多族中最卓越者啊，请如实告知：凡护持前来投依求庇之众生——四类有情：卵生、胎生、湿生与地生（草木）——其所获真实果报为何？”
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.