Shloka 6
Chapter 84: Brahmā’s Counsel on Tāraka, the Search for Agni, and the Genesis of Skanda
Kārttikeya
अपि चात्र पुरागीतां कथयिष्यामि तेडनघ
api cātra purāgītāṃ kathayiṣyāmi te 'naghā | niṣpāpa nareśa | asmin viṣaye tvāṃ purā-vṛttāntaṃ śrāvayāmi | ekadā parama-buddhimān śukadevaḥ nitya-karmānuṣṭhānaṃ kṛtvā pavitraḥ śuddha-cittaś ca san, ṛṣi-śreṣṭhaṃ pitaraṃ śrī-kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyanaṃ vyāsaṃ, yaḥ lokasya bhūta-bhaviṣyat pratyakṣa-darśī, praṇamya papraccha— “pitāḥ! sarveṣu yajñeṣu kaḥ yajñaḥ śreṣṭhatamo dṛśyate?”
ビーシュマは言った。「さらに、罪なき王よ、ここに古き伝承を語ろう。この件について、昔の出来事を汝に告げる。ある時、至賢のシュカデーヴァは日々の儀礼を修め、身も心も清らかに澄みわたり、父にして仙人の最勝たるシュリー・クリシュナ・ドヴァイパーヤナ・ヴィヤーサ——過去と未来を直観すると伝えられる方——に礼拝して問うた。『父上、あらゆる祭祀（ヤジュニャ）のうち、いずれが最上と見なされるのでしょうか』」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames ethical-ritual inquiry as requiring inner and outer purity: one performs one’s daily duties, approaches a worthy teacher with humility, and then asks about the hierarchy of dharmic acts—here, which yajña is truly supreme.
Bhīṣma begins an ‘ancient account’ for the king: Śukadeva, after completing his daily observances, bows to his father Vyāsa—described as a seer of past and future—and asks him which sacrifice is considered the greatest among all sacrifices.