Shloka 10
किं च यज्ञस्य यज्ञत्वं क्व च यज्ञ: प्रतिष्ठित: । देवानामुत्तमं कि च कि च सत्रमित: परम्,'यज्ञका यज्ञत्व क्या है? यज्ञ किसमें प्रतिष्ठित है? देवताओंके लिये कौन-सी वस्तु उत्तम है? इससे श्रेष्ठ यज्ञ क्या है?
kiṃ ca yajñasya yajñatvaṃ kva ca yajñaḥ pratiṣṭhitaḥ | devānām uttamaṃ kiṃ ca kiṃ ca satram itaḥ param ||
Bhishma asks probing questions about the inner meaning of sacrifice: What truly makes a rite a “yajña”? Upon what foundation does yajña stand? What is held to be the highest good for the gods? And what sacrificial observance is considered superior even to this? The questions turn the discussion from mere ritual performance toward the principle and purpose that give ritual its moral and spiritual legitimacy.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: ritual is not self-justifying; its true status as ‘yajña’ depends on the principle that grounds it (its pratiṣṭhā) and the highest aim it serves. It invites evaluation of sacrifice by inner essence and ethical-spiritual purpose rather than by external form alone.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma poses a sequence of questions to guide the listener toward a deeper understanding of sacrificial practice—what defines yajña, what supports it, what benefits the gods most, and what observance surpasses even standard sacrificial rites.