Shloka 10
Chapter 84: Brahmā’s Counsel on Tāraka, the Search for Agni, and the Genesis of Skanda
Kārttikeya
किं च यज्ञस्य यज्ञत्वं क्व च यज्ञ: प्रतिष्ठित: । देवानामुत्तमं कि च कि च सत्रमित: परम्
kiṃ ca yajñasya yajñatvaṃ kva ca yajñaḥ pratiṣṭhitaḥ | devānām uttamaṃ kiṃ ca kiṃ ca satram itaḥ param ||
ಯಜ್ಞದ ಯಜ್ಞತ್ವವೇನು? ಯಜ್ಞವು ಯಾವ ಆಧಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಿತವಾಗಿದೆ? ದೇವತೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮವಾದುದು ಯಾವುದು? ಇದಕ್ಕಿಂತಲೂ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠವಾದ ಸತ್ರಯಜ್ಞ ಯಾವುದು?
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: ritual is not self-justifying; its true status as ‘yajña’ depends on the principle that grounds it (its pratiṣṭhā) and the highest aim it serves. It invites evaluation of sacrifice by inner essence and ethical-spiritual purpose rather than by external form alone.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma poses a sequence of questions to guide the listener toward a deeper understanding of sacrificial practice—what defines yajña, what supports it, what benefits the gods most, and what observance surpasses even standard sacrificial rites.