Shloka 20
Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve
देवा: सर्वे मुनयः साधु शान्ता- स्त॑ प्राग्वंशे यज्ञभागैर्यजन्ते । अहं ब्रह्मा आद्य ईशः प्रजानां तस्माज्जातस्त्वं च मत्त: प्रसूत:
devāḥ sarve munayaḥ sādhu śāntās taṃ prāgvaṃśe yajñabhāgair yajante | ahaṃ brahmā ādya īśaḥ prajānāṃ tasmāj jātas tvaṃ ca mattaḥ prasūtaḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Semua dewa dan para resi yang berhati tenteram menyembah Dia, Sang Purusha Tertinggi, dalam garis keturunan purba, dengan mempersembahkan bagian-bagian yajña yang menjadi hak-Nya. Aku adalah Brahmā, penguasa mula-mula atas makhluk; aku lahir dari Pribadi Tertinggi itu, dan dariku pula engkau dilahirkan.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse grounds religious practice and cosmic order in a single Supreme source: even gods and tranquil sages worship Him through sacrificial offerings, and Brahmā himself is presented as born from that Highest Person—establishing a hierarchy where devotion and ritual ultimately point to the Supreme.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, he speaks authoritatively about the origin of beings and the proper object of worship, stating that the gods and sages worship the Supreme through yajña, and describing a creation-lineage in which Brahmā arises from the Supreme and another being is said to arise from Brahmā.