Shloka 21
प्रतिग्रहभेदः — The Distinction between Giving and Accepting
Vṛṣādarbhī–Saptarṣi Dialogue
सो<यं स्वयम्भुविहितो धर्म: संकल्पितस्त्वया । ऋते स्वयम्भुव: कोडन्य: श्राद्धेयं विधिमाहरेत्
so ’yaṁ svayambhuvihito dharmaḥ saṅkalpitas tvayā | ṛte svayambhuvaḥ ko ’nyaḥ śrāddheyaṁ vidhim āharet ||
Bhīṣma said: “This very dharma you have undertaken is the one originally ordained by Svayambhu (Brahmā). Who else, apart from Svayambhu himself, could lay down the proper procedure for what is to be offered in śrāddha? Therefore, your observance follows the primordial rule established by Brahmā.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse grounds śrāddha and related dharma in primordial authority: the correct ritual procedure is not arbitrary but traced to Svayambhu (Brahmā), implying that faithful observance aligns one with an original, universally sanctioned order.
Bhishma, instructing on dharma in the Anushasana Parva, affirms that the listener’s performance follows the ancient rule established by Brahmā and rhetorically emphasizes that no one else could authoritatively prescribe the śrāddha-vidhi.