Shloka 6
Chapter 84: Brahmā’s Counsel on Tāraka, the Search for Agni, and the Genesis of Skanda
Kārttikeya
अपि चात्र पुरागीतां कथयिष्यामि तेडनघ
api cātra purāgītāṃ kathayiṣyāmi te 'naghā | niṣpāpa nareśa | asmin viṣaye tvāṃ purā-vṛttāntaṃ śrāvayāmi | ekadā parama-buddhimān śukadevaḥ nitya-karmānuṣṭhānaṃ kṛtvā pavitraḥ śuddha-cittaś ca san, ṛṣi-śreṣṭhaṃ pitaraṃ śrī-kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyanaṃ vyāsaṃ, yaḥ lokasya bhūta-bhaviṣyat pratyakṣa-darśī, praṇamya papraccha— “pitāḥ! sarveṣu yajñeṣu kaḥ yajñaḥ śreṣṭhatamo dṛśyate?”
Bhīṣma dit : «De plus, ô roi sans faute, je vais rapporter ici une antique tradition. À ce sujet, je te dirai un vieux récit : un jour, le très sage Śukadeva, après avoir accompli ses rites quotidiens et s’être rendu pur, le cœur limpide, se prosterna devant son père — Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa, le premier des ṛṣi, dont on dit qu’il voit directement ce qui fut et ce qui sera — et demanda : “Père, parmi tous les sacrifices, lequel est tenu pour le plus élevé ?”»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames ethical-ritual inquiry as requiring inner and outer purity: one performs one’s daily duties, approaches a worthy teacher with humility, and then asks about the hierarchy of dharmic acts—here, which yajña is truly supreme.
Bhīṣma begins an ‘ancient account’ for the king: Śukadeva, after completing his daily observances, bows to his father Vyāsa—described as a seer of past and future—and asks him which sacrifice is considered the greatest among all sacrifices.