Shloka 61
यज्ञ इज्यो महेज्यश्न क्रतुः सत्र सतां गति: । सर्वदर्शी विमुक्तात्मा सर्वज्ञो ज्ञानमुत्तमम्
yajña ijyo mahejyaś ca kratuḥ satra satāṁ gatiḥ | sarvadarśī vimuktātmā sarvajño jñānam uttamam ||
Bhishma bersabda: Dialah yajña itu sendiri; Dialah yang patut dipuja, yang paling luhur untuk disembah. Dialah kratu dan satra; sandaran serta tujuan tertinggi orang-orang saleh. Mahamelihat, senantiasa bebas dari belenggu dunia, Mahatahu—Dialah pengetahuan tertinggi itu sendiri.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies the Supreme (understood here as Viṣṇu) with the very essence of Vedic religion and spiritual attainment: He is both the object of worship and the sacrificial act, the protector and final goal of the righteous, and the highest knowledge leading to liberation.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma—teaching from his bed of arrows—offers a hymn-like description of the Supreme’s attributes, emphasizing divine supremacy through epithets that connect ritual (yajña/kratu/satra), ethics (satāṁ gatiḥ), and metaphysics (all-seeing, ever-liberated, omniscient, highest knowledge).