Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
आत्मा धर्म: श्रुतं वेदा: पितरश्नर्षिभि: सह । साक्षात् पितामहो ब्रह्मा गुरवो5थ प्रजापति:
ātmā dharmaḥ śrutaṃ vedāḥ pitaraś ca ṛṣibhiḥ saha | sākṣāt pitāmaho brahmā guravo 'tha prajāpatiḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「自己(Self)こそがダルマである。聖伝(śruti)とヴェーダもまた然り。祖霊ピトリ(Pitṛs)とリシ(Ṛṣis)も然り。さらに直に、祖父ブラフマー(Brahmā)、師たち、そしてプラジャーパティ(Prajāpati)もまた然り。」
भीष्म उवाच
Dharma is grounded in the deepest self and is upheld by multiple supreme authorities—revelation (śruti), the Vedas, ancestral and sage traditions, and the highest progenitors (Brahmā, Prajāpati), along with one’s teachers—therefore these deserve reverence as guides for right conduct.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues his instruction on righteous living, listing the principal sources and embodiments of dharma to emphasize whom one should honor and consult when discerning ethical duty.