Shloka 8
Nāga–Nāgabhāryā Saṃvāda: Varṇa-Dharma, Gṛhastha-Discipline, and Mokṣa-Self-Inquiry
Mahābhārata 12.347
साधो! मैं पहले नारायणकी आराधनाका कार्य पूर्ण कर लेनेपर पितरोंका पूजन करता हूँ। इस प्रकार वे भगवान् नारायण ही मेरे पिता, माता और पितामह हैं ।।
nārada uvāca | sādho! ahaṃ pūrvaṃ nārāyaṇasyārādhanā-kāryaṃ paripūrya tataḥ pitr̥ṇāṃ pūjanaṃ karomi | evaṃ sa bhagavān nārāyaṇa eva me pitā mātā pitāmahaś ca || ijyate pitr̥yajñeṣu tathā nityaṃ jagatpatiḥ | śrutiś cāparā devī—putrān anu hi pitaro ’yajan ||
ナーラダは言った。「徳ある人よ、私はまずナーラーヤナへの礼拝を成し遂げ、その後に祖霊（ピトリ）を敬う儀礼を行う。かくして、そのナーラーヤナこそ我にとって父であり母であり祖父である。まことに祖霊の供犠（ピトリ・ヤジュニャ）においては、常に世界の主が礼拝される。また別のシュルティは、かつて『父祖』自身が、その子らに関わる（法）に従って礼拝を行ったと証している。」
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Nārada teaches that devotion to Nārāyaṇa is primary and foundational: even ancestral rites (pitṛyajña) are ultimately fulfilled through worship of the Lord, who is regarded as the true source and support of all familial relations and obligations.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and rites, Nārada explains his own practice: he completes worship of Nārāyaṇa first and then performs ancestral honoring, citing śruti to affirm that the Lord is worshipped in pitṛyajñas and that scriptural testimony supports this ordering.