चतुर्युगश्चतुर्वेदश्नातुहोत्रप्रवर्तक: । चातुराश्रम्यनेता च चातुर्व्ण्यकरश्न यः
caturyugaś caturvedaś snātu-hotrapravartakaḥ | cāturāśramyanetā ca cāturvarṇyakaraś ca yaḥ ||
ভীষ্মে ক’লে— চাৰি যুগ আৰু চাৰি বেদ তোমাৰেই স্বৰূপ। চাৰি প্ৰকাৰ হোতৃ-কর্মৰ প্ৰৱৰ্তক তুমি। চাৰি আশ্ৰমৰ নেতা তুমি, আৰু চাৰি বৰ্ণৰ সৃষ্টিকৰ্তা-ব্যৱস্থাপকও তুমি।
भीष्म उवाच
The verse attributes the foundations of dharma—time-cycles (yugas), revelation (Vedas), ritual practice, and the āśrama/varṇa frameworks—to the supreme principle addressed by Bhīṣma, presenting these institutions as deriving their authority from a single ultimate source rather than being merely human conventions.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and governance. Here he offers a hymn-like praise, identifying the addressed deity/principle as the originator and regulator of cosmic time, Vedic knowledge, sacrificial rites, and the social-spiritual disciplines that uphold order in society.