Shloka 53
Āśrama-dharma: Duties of the Four Life-Stages (आश्रमधर्मः)
ऋषयस्तं प्रशंसन्ति साधु चैतदसंशयम् । सर्वथा सर्वदा वर्णर्यष्टव्यमिति निर्णय:
ṛṣayas taṃ praśaṃsanti sādhu caitad asaṃśayam | sarvathā sarvadā varṇair yaṣṭavyam iti nirṇayaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Les sages ṛṣi louent cela, et à juste titre — il n’y a aucun doute. Ainsi, de toutes les manières et en tout temps, les hommes de tous les varṇa (ordres sociaux) doivent accomplir le sacrifice (yajña) ; telle est la conclusion arrêtée des Écritures.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That yajña (sacrificial duty/ritual offering) is affirmed by the sages as unquestionably good, and that the śāstric conclusion is: all varṇas should consistently uphold this duty as part of dharma.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma addresses Yudhishthira and reinforces a normative rule: the tradition of yajña is praised by the rishis and is to be maintained universally and continually as a scripturally grounded practice.