Shloka 6
Chapter 84: Brahmā’s Counsel on Tāraka, the Search for Agni, and the Genesis of Skanda
Kārttikeya
अपि चात्र पुरागीतां कथयिष्यामि तेडनघ,निष्पाप नरेश! इस विषयमें मैं तुम्हें एक पुराना वृत्तान्त सुना रहा हूँ। एक समयकी बात है, परम बुद्धिमान् शुकदेवजीने नित्यकर्मका अनुष्ठान करके पवित्र एवं शुद्धचित्त होकर अपने पिता--ऋषियोंमें उत्तम श्रीकृष्णद्वैपायन व्यासको, जो लोकके भूत और भविष्यको प्रत्यक्ष देखनेवाले हैं, प्रणाम करके पूछा--'पिताजी! सम्पूर्ण यज्ञोंमें कौन-सा यज्ञ सबसे श्रेष्ठ देखा जाता है?
api cātra purāgītāṃ kathayiṣyāmi te 'naghā | niṣpāpa nareśa | asmin viṣaye tvāṃ purā-vṛttāntaṃ śrāvayāmi | ekadā parama-buddhimān śukadevaḥ nitya-karmānuṣṭhānaṃ kṛtvā pavitraḥ śuddha-cittaś ca san, ṛṣi-śreṣṭhaṃ pitaraṃ śrī-kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyanaṃ vyāsaṃ, yaḥ lokasya bhūta-bhaviṣyat pratyakṣa-darśī, praṇamya papraccha— “pitāḥ! sarveṣu yajñeṣu kaḥ yajñaḥ śreṣṭhatamo dṛśyate?”
Bhishma said: “Moreover, O sinless king, I shall recount here an ancient tradition. Once, the supremely wise Śukadeva, having performed his daily rites and become pure and clear-minded, bowed to his father—Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa, foremost of sages, who is said to behold directly what has been and what will be—and asked: ‘Father, among all sacrifices, which sacrifice is regarded as the highest?’”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames ethical-ritual inquiry as requiring inner and outer purity: one performs one’s daily duties, approaches a worthy teacher with humility, and then asks about the hierarchy of dharmic acts—here, which yajña is truly supreme.
Bhīṣma begins an ‘ancient account’ for the king: Śukadeva, after completing his daily observances, bows to his father Vyāsa—described as a seer of past and future—and asks him which sacrifice is considered the greatest among all sacrifices.