Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 118
यज्ञभृद् यज्ञकृद् यज्ञी यज्ञभुग् यज्ञसाधन: । यज्ञान्तकृद् यज्ञगुह्मन्नमन्नाद एव च
yajñabhṛd yajñakṛd yajñī yajñabhug yajñasādhanaḥ | yajñāntakṛd yajñaguhyam annam annāda eva ca ||
Bhīṣma said: He is the sustainer of sacrifice, the ordainer of sacrifice, and the very one in whom all sacrifices find their completion. He is the enjoyer of every sacrifice and the means by which sacrifices are accomplished. He grants the final fruit of sacrifice and is the hidden, inward essence of sacrifice. He is food itself—nourishing all beings—and also the eater of food, the one who receives and consumes all offerings.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
All sacrificial action—outer ritual and inner discipline—ultimately rests in and returns to the Supreme: He upholds sacrifice, enables it, receives it, and grants its fruits. The verse also shifts emphasis from mere external rite to the ‘secret’ of yajña: selfless intention and inward offering.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and extols the Supreme through a litany of divine names. This verse is part of that praise, describing the Lord as the essence, agent, recipient, and reward of yajña, and as the universal nourisher (food) and enjoyer (eater).