Shloka 24
Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
आत्मा धर्म: श्रुतं वेदा: पितरश्नर्षिभि: सह । साक्षात् पितामहो ब्रह्मा गुरवो5थ प्रजापति:
ātmā dharmaḥ śrutaṃ vedāḥ pitaraś ca ṛṣibhiḥ saha | sākṣāt pitāmaho brahmā guravo 'tha prajāpatiḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Ang Sarili (Self) mismo ang dharma; gayundin ang banal na śruti at ang mga Veda; ang mga Pitṛ kasama ng mga Ṛṣi; at tuwiran din, ang Dakilang Ninuno na si Brahmā, ang mga guro, at si Prajāpati.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is grounded in the deepest self and is upheld by multiple supreme authorities—revelation (śruti), the Vedas, ancestral and sage traditions, and the highest progenitors (Brahmā, Prajāpati), along with one’s teachers—therefore these deserve reverence as guides for right conduct.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues his instruction on righteous living, listing the principal sources and embodiments of dharma to emphasize whom one should honor and consult when discerning ethical duty.