Shloka 4
Nāga–Nāgabhāryā Saṃvāda: Varṇa-Dharma, Gṛhastha-Discipline, and Mokṣa-Self-Inquiry
Mahābhārata 12.347
नारद उवाच त्वयैतत् कथित पूर्वे दैवं कर्तव्यमित्यपि | दैवतं च परो यज्ञ: परमात्मा सनातन:,नारदजीने कहा--प्रभो! आपने ही पहले यह कहा था कि देवकर्म सबके लिये कर्तव्य है; क्योंकि देवकर्म उत्तम यज्ञ है और यज्ञ सनातन परमात्माका स्वरूप है
nārada uvāca | tvayaitat kathitaṃ pūrve daivaṃ kartavyam ity api | daivataṃ ca paro yajñaḥ paramātmā sanātanaḥ ||
नारद उवाच—प्रभो! त्वयैव पूर्वं कथितं यत् दैवं कर्म सर्वेषां कर्तव्यमिति। यतो दैवतं परो यज्ञः, यज्ञश्च सनातनः परमात्मस्वरूप एव।
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
That daiva-karmas—religiously enjoined acts directed toward the divine—are obligatory, because the highest form of honoring the divine is yajña; and in its deepest meaning yajña is identified with the eternal Paramātmā, making sacrificial duty a spiritual discipline rather than mere ritual.
Narada recalls and cites the interlocutor’s earlier instruction: that divine duties must be performed. He supports this by linking deity, sacrifice, and the Supreme Self—arguing that yajña is the supreme mode of worship and is ultimately grounded in the eternal Paramātmā.