Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, 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 ||
ऋषि इसकी प्रशंसा करते हैं—यह निश्चय ही उत्तम है, इसमें कोई संदेह नहीं। इसलिए सब प्रकार से और सदा, सभी वर्णों के लोगों को यज्ञ करना चाहिए—यही शास्त्रों का निश्चित निर्णय है।
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.