Shloka 5
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
सम्प्रदीप्तेषु देशेषु ब्राह्मणे चातिपीडिते । अवर्षति च पर्जन्ये मिथो भेदे समुत्थिते
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
sampradīpteṣu deśeṣu brāhmaṇe cātipīḍite |
avarṣati ca parjanye mitho bhede samutthite ||
尤提士提罗说道：“噢，民众之主！当诸国因动乱而如火燃烧，婆罗门遭受沉重压迫；当雨神吝于降雨；当彼此分裂与仇怨兴起——当这般卑劣之世盛行——婆罗门应以何道维生？”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an apad (calamity) scenario—social breakdown, oppression of the brāhmaṇa, and drought—and asks how a brāhmaṇa should preserve life without abandoning dharma. It introduces the ethical problem of livelihood and conduct when normal duties and social supports collapse.
In Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīṣma about right conduct. Here he describes a time of widespread disorder—lands in turmoil, brāhmaṇas oppressed, rains failing, and factions rising—and asks what practical means a brāhmaṇa should adopt to live through such a degraded age.