Shloka 21
स देवानां मानुषाणां पितृणां तमेवाहुर्यज्ञविदां वितानम् । स एव काल॑ विभजन्नुदेति तस्योत्तरं दक्षिणं चायने द्वे
sa devānāṁ mānuṣāṇāṁ pitṝṇāṁ tam evāhur yajñavidāṁ vitānam | sa eva kālaṁ vibhajann udeti tasyottaraṁ dakṣiṇaṁ cāyane dve ||
Bhishma dit : Lui seul est proclamé comme le Soi même des dieux, des hommes et des ancêtres. Les connaisseurs du sacrifice l’appellent la véritable étendue et le principe d’ordonnancement du yajña. C’est lui qui, en divisant le temps, se lève comme le Soleil ; et les deux courses—uttarāyaṇa et dakṣiṇāyaṇa—sont ses deux voies.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the unity of the Supreme with the entire cosmic and moral order: the same Reality is the inner Self of gods, humans, and ancestors, the principle underlying sacrifice, and the regulator of time as the sun’s course. Dharma and ritual gain depth when seen as participation in that single, all-pervading order.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma continues his instruction to Yudhishthira on dharma and higher truths. Here he identifies the Supreme (understood in context as Śrī Kṛṣṇa/Nārāyaṇa) as the foundation of yajña and as the cosmic regulator manifesting through time and the sun’s two annual courses, uttarāyaṇa and dakṣiṇāyaṇa.