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 ||
毗湿摩说道：“我早已从仙圣、诸天与大心的祖灵之口听闻此教：敬奉来客之中，有崇高而沉重的法（dharma）。对来者不加算计、不作迟延而以恭敬迎接，本身便是一项伟大的道德义务。”
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.