Shloka 20
Vasiṣṭha on Saṃsāra, Guṇas, and Misattributed Agency
Mahābhārata 12.292
आहितानिनेहिं धर्मात्मा यः स पुण्यकृदुत्तम: । वेदा हि सर्वे राजेन्द्र स्थितास्त्रिष्वग्निषु प्रभो
āhitāgnir iha dharmātmā yaḥ sa puṇyakṛd uttamaḥ | vedā hi sarve rājendra sthitās triṣv agniṣu prabho ||
波罗娑罗说道：“大王啊，凡建立圣火并日日行阿耆尼火供（Agnihotra）者，实为具法之人；在诸修福业者中，他最为殊胜。因为，诸王之主啊，一切吠陀仿佛具身而现，皆在三火之中——家主火（Gārhapatya）、供献火（Āhavanīya）与南方火（Dakṣiṇa）。”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that steadfast performance of the householder’s Vedic duty—especially maintaining the consecrated fires and offering the daily Agnihotra—constitutes exemplary righteousness and merit; the three sacred fires are revered as the living seat of Vedic authority.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, the sage Parāśara addresses a king and praises the āhitāgni householder, asserting that the Vedas are effectively present in the triad of ritual fires, thereby elevating daily sacrificial discipline as a central ethical-religious practice.