Adhyāya 262: Śabda-brahman, Para-brahman, and the Ethics of Tyāga
Kapila–Syūmaraśmi Saṃvāda
यदेव सुकृतं हव्यं तेन तुष्यन्ति देवता: । नमस्कारेण हविषा स्वाध्यायैरौषधैस्तथा
yad eva sukṛtaṃ havyaṃ tena tuṣyanti devatāḥ | namaskāreṇa haviṣā svādhyāyair auṣadhais tathā
देवता त्या हव्यानेच तृप्त होतात जे खरोखर सुकृत आणि अर्पणास योग्य असते. ते नमस्काररूपी हवि, स्वाध्याय आणि तसेच औषधींनीही प्रसन्न होतात.
चुलाधार उवाच
True merit (sukṛta) is itself the real offering: the divine is satisfied not only by external ritual substances but also by reverence (namaskāra), disciplined self-study (svādhyāya), and acts that heal and sustain life (auṣadhi).
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Chulādhāra speaks as a moral teacher, redefining sacrifice by emphasizing inner disposition and ethical, life-supporting practices as valid ‘oblations’ that please the gods.