Shloka 44
Āśrama-dharma: Duties of the Four Life-Stages (आश्रमधर्मः)
ऋग्यजु:सामवित् पूज्यो नित्यं स्थाद् देववद् द्विज: । अनृग्यजुरसामा च प्राजापत्य उपद्रव: । यज्ञों मनीषया तात सर्ववर्णेषु भारत
bhīṣma uvāca | ṛgyajuḥsāmavit pūjyo nityaṃ sthād devavad dvijaḥ | anṛgyajur asāmā ca prājāpatya upadravaḥ | yajño manīṣayā tāta sarvavarṇeṣu bhārata ||
Bhishma dit : « Un dvija, un “deux fois né”, qui connaît le Ṛg, le Yajus et le Sāman doit être honoré en tout temps, révéré comme une divinité. Même celui qui ne possède pas la connaissance du Ṛg, du Yajus et du Sāman—tel un serviteur ou un Śūdra—peut néanmoins être appelé “Prājāpatya”, un dévot accordé à Prajāpati. Ô cher enfant, ô descendant de Bharata : le sacrifice accompli au-dedans par l’intention et l’intelligence—l’offrande mentale—appartient à tous les varṇa. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma distinguishes between (1) the social reverence due to a dvija learned in the three Vedas and (2) the broader spiritual accessibility of inner sacrifice: a mental, intention-based yajña is open to all varṇas, even to those without Vedic study.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma advises Yudhiṣṭhira about religious merit and social honor: Vedic mastery warrants high respect, yet devotion and inward sacrificial practice are not restricted to the Veda-trained classes.