Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 107
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
अन्निहोत्र, पितरोंका पूजन (श्राद्ध) और पंचमहा-यज्ञोंका अनुष्ठान यह उनका मुख्य धर्म कहा जाता है ।।
agnihotraṃ pitṝṇāṃ pūjanaṃ (śrāddhaṃ) ca pañcamahāyajñānām anuṣṭhānam—eṣa teṣāṃ mukhyo dharmaḥ kathyate. eṣa cakracaraiḥ devi devalokacarair dvijaiḥ ṛṣidharmaḥ sadā cīrṇo yo ’nyas tam api me śṛṇu, devi.
大自在天（摩醯首罗）说道：“奉行阿耆尼火供（Agnihotra），以施罗陀（śrāddha）礼敬祖灵，并修行五大祭（pañca-mahā-yajña）——此等被宣示为他们的根本职责。噢，女神啊，那些行迹如轮回转、而居于天界的婆罗门，历来恒常奉持此‘仙圣之法’（ṛṣi-dharma）。此外，噢，提毗（Devi），再听我说一条同样属于诸仙人的义务。”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies a foundational dharma centered on daily and periodic sacred obligations: maintaining the fire-rite (Agnihotra), honoring ancestors through śrāddha, and performing the five great sacrifices. It frames these as the primary ethical-religious duties sustaining cosmic and social order, and then signals that an additional rishi-duty will be taught next.
Śrī Maheśvara is instructing Devī. He describes the long-established practice of certain Brahmins—portrayed as celestial-ranging and cyclical in movement—who have consistently observed rishi-dharma. He then transitions to introduce another aspect of the seers’ dharma to be explained subsequently.