Shloka 58
धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)
त्रींश्वेवेमान् गुणान् पश्य मत्स्थान् मूर्तिविवर्जितान् । देवकार्यादपि मुने पितृकार्य विशिष्यते
trīṁśv evemān guṇān paśya matsthān mūrtivivarjitān | devakāryād api mune pitṛkāryaṁ viśiṣyate ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Vois ces trois guṇa qui demeurent en mon être même : bien qu’ils soient sans forme, considère-les comme s’ils étaient incarnés. Ô sage, même au-delà des rites offerts aux dieux, le devoir envers les ancêtres est tenu pour supérieur.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma emphasizes a hierarchy of dharma: obligations to one’s ancestors (pitṛkārya, such as śrāddha and pitṛyajña) are presented as weightier than even rites directed to the gods, and he frames metaphysical principles (the three guṇas) as present within embodied life and thus to be recognized in practice.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma addresses a sage, pointing to the three guṇas as abiding in his own being and then turning to prescriptive teaching: he asserts the superior importance of ancestral rites over divine rites, guiding the listener toward proper prioritization of duties.