Shloka 10
यज्ञेऽहिंसा-प्राधान्यम्
Primacy of Non-Harm in Sacrificial Ethics
Devanagari script
विष्णुमेवाभिजानन्ति सर्वयज्ञेषु ब्राह्मणा:
Transliteration
viṣṇum evābhijānanti sarvayajñeṣu brāhmaṇāḥ
Translation
भीष्म उवाच—सर्वयज्ञेषु ब्राह्मणाः विष्णुमेवाभिजानन्ति; स एव परं ज्ञेयः, स एव आराध्यः, यत्र सर्वा हविर्भागाः सर्वाश्च यज्ञार्थाः अन्ततः समापद्यन्ते।
Word by Word
विष्णुम्Vishnu
विष्णुम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootविष्णु
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
एवindeed/only
एव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएव
अभिजानन्तिrecognize/know
अभिजानन्ति:
TypeVerb
Rootअभि + ज्ञा
FormPresent, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada
सर्वयज्ञेषुin all sacrifices
सर्वयज्ञेषु:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootसर्वयज्ञ
FormMasculine, Locative, Plural
ब्राह्मणाःBrahmins
ब्राह्मणाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootब्राह्मण
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
Speaker
भीष्म उवाच
Characters & Entities
V
ViṣṇuB
BrāhmaṇasCharacter Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
All Vedic sacrifices, though diverse in form and deities invoked, culminate in the recognition of Viṣṇu as the ultimate recipient and inner reality of yajña; ritual is thus oriented toward a single supreme principle.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right understanding, Bhīṣma teaches that learned Brahmanas, when they grasp the true purport of sacrificial rites, identify Viṣṇu as the final focus behind all yajñas.