Shloka 7
Chapter 84: Brahmā’s Counsel on Tāraka, the Search for Agni, and the Genesis of Skanda
Kārttikeya
ऋषीणामुत्तमं धीमान् कृष्णद्वैपायनं शुक: । अभिवाद्याह्विककृतः शुचि: प्रयतमानस:
Bhīṣma uvāca: Ṛṣīṇām uttamaṁ dhīmān Kṛṣṇadvaipāyanaṁ Śukaḥ | abhivādyāhvikakṛtaḥ śuciḥ prayatamānasaḥ, niṣpāpa nareśa! asmin viṣaye ’haṁ te purāṇaṁ vṛttāntaṁ śrāvayiṣyāmi | ekadā paramabuddhimān Śukadevaḥ nityakarmaṇo ’nuṣṭhānaṁ kṛtvā pavitraḥ śuddhacitto bhūtvā pitaram—ṛṣīṇām uttamaṁ Śrī-Kṛṣṇadvaipāyanaṁ Vyāsaṁ, yaḥ lokasya bhūta-bhaviṣyaṁ pratyakṣaṁ paśyati—praṇamya papraccha: “pitāḥ! sarveṣu yajñeṣu kaḥ yajñaḥ śreṣṭhatamaḥ dṛśyate?”
भीष्म म्हणाले— परम बुद्धिमान शुकांनी नित्यकर्म आचरून शुद्ध व संयतमन होऊन, ऋषींमध्ये श्रेष्ठ श्रीकृष्णद्वैपायन व्यासांना प्रणाम करून विचारले— “पिताजी! सर्व यज्ञांमध्ये कोणता यज्ञ सर्वोत्तम मानला जातो?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames dharma as something to be approached through disciplined practice (daily rites, purity of mind) and humble inquiry to a qualified teacher; it prepares the ground for evaluating which forms of yajña (sacred duty/sacrifice) are truly ‘highest’ in ethical and spiritual terms.
Bhishma tells the king he will recount an ancient episode: Śukadeva, after completing his daily observances, respectfully bows to his father Vyāsa and asks a doctrinal question—among all sacrifices, which is considered the श्रेष्ठतम (highest).