Shloka 118
यज्ञभृद् यज्ञकृद् यज्ञी यज्ञभुग् यज्ञसाधन: । यज्ञान्तकृद् यज्ञगुह्मन्नमन्नाद एव च
yajñabhṛd yajñakṛd yajñī yajñabhug yajñasādhanaḥ | yajñāntakṛd yajñaguhyam annam annāda eva ca ||
Bhīṣma dit : Il est le soutien du sacrifice, l’ordonnateur du sacrifice, et celui en qui tous les sacrifices trouvent leur accomplissement. Il est le bénéficiaire de tout sacrifice et le moyen par lequel les sacrifices s’accomplissent. Il accorde le fruit ultime du sacrifice et il en est l’essence cachée, intérieure. Il est la nourriture elle-même—qui nourrit tous les êtres—et aussi celui qui mange la nourriture, recevant et consommant toutes les offrandes.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
All sacrificial action—outer ritual and inner discipline—ultimately rests in and returns to the Supreme: He upholds sacrifice, enables it, receives it, and grants its fruits. The verse also shifts emphasis from mere external rite to the ‘secret’ of yajña: selfless intention and inward offering.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and extols the Supreme through a litany of divine names. This verse is part of that praise, describing the Lord as the essence, agent, recipient, and reward of yajña, and as the universal nourisher (food) and enjoyer (eater).