Shloka 26
पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation
माता देहारणि: पुंसां सर्वस्यार्तस्य निर्व॒ति: । मातृलाभे सनाथत्वमनाथत्वं विपर्यये
mātā dehāraṇiḥ puṁsāṁ sarvasyārtasya nirvṛtiḥ | mātṛlābhe sanāthatvam anāthatvaṁ viparyaye ||
قال بهيشما: «الأم هي الأَرَني، عود الإيقاد الذي يُظهر نار الحياة المتجسّدة للإنسان. ولجميع الكائنات الواقعة في الضيق، هي منبع السلوى والفرج. ما دامت الأم موجودة شعر المرء أنه في كنفٍ وحمايةٍ وليس وحيدًا؛ فإذا غابت صار يتيمًا حقًّا».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the ethical and emotional centrality of the mother: she is the primary source of life’s nurture and the foremost refuge for the distressed; her presence gives a sense of protection (sanāthatva), and her absence creates profound vulnerability (anāthatva).
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhishma is teaching Yudhishthira through moral reflections; here he highlights the mother’s unique role as the giver of embodied life and as the natural shelter and consolation for suffering beings.