Shloka 24
Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
आत्मा धर्म: श्रुतं वेदा: पितरश्नर्षिभि: सह । साक्षात् पितामहो ब्रह्मा गुरवो5थ प्रजापति:
ātmā dharmaḥ śrutaṃ vedāḥ pitaraś ca ṛṣibhiḥ saha | sākṣāt pitāmaho brahmā guravo 'tha prajāpatiḥ ||
Bhishma said: The very Self is dharma; so too are sacred learning and the Vedas, the Pitṛs together with the Ṛṣis; and directly, the Grandsire Brahmā, the teachers, and also Prajāpati.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is grounded in the deepest self and is upheld by multiple supreme authorities—revelation (śruti), the Vedas, ancestral and sage traditions, and the highest progenitors (Brahmā, Prajāpati), along with one’s teachers—therefore these deserve reverence as guides for right conduct.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues his instruction on righteous living, listing the principal sources and embodiments of dharma to emphasize whom one should honor and consult when discerning ethical duty.