Shloka 53
Āśrama-dharma: Duties of the Four Life-Stages (आश्रमधर्मः)
ऋषयस्तं प्रशंसन्ति साधु चैतदसंशयम् । सर्वथा सर्वदा वर्णर्यष्टव्यमिति निर्णय:,ऋषि भी उसकी प्रशंसा करते हैं। यह यज्ञ-कर्म श्रेष्ठ है, इसमें कोई संदेह नहीं है; अतः सभी वर्णके लोगोंको सदा सब प्रकारसे यज्ञ करना चाहिये, यही शास्त्रोंका निर्णय है
ṛṣayas taṃ praśaṃsanti sādhu caitad asaṃśayam | sarvathā sarvadā varṇair yaṣṭavyam iti nirṇayaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “The sages praise this, and rightly so—there is no doubt about it. Therefore, in every way and at all times, people of all social orders should perform sacrifice; this is the settled conclusion of the scriptures.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That yajña (sacrificial duty/ritual offering) is affirmed by the sages as unquestionably good, and that the śāstric conclusion is: all varṇas should consistently uphold this duty as part of dharma.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma addresses Yudhishthira and reinforces a normative rule: the tradition of yajña is praised by the rishis and is to be maintained universally and continually as a scripturally grounded practice.