Shloka 25

Devanagari script

येन प्रीणाति पितरं तेन प्रीत: प्रजापति: । प्रीणाति मातरं येन पृथिवी तेन पूजिता

Transliteration

yena prīṇāti pitaraṁ tena prītaḥ prajāpatiḥ | prīṇāti mātaraṁ yena pṛthivī tena pūjitā ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: Durch welches Verhalten man den Vater erfreut, durch eben dieses ist Prajāpati, der Herr der Geschöpfe, zufrieden. Und durch welches Verhalten man die Mutter erfreut, durch eben dieses wird die Erde selbst geehrt und verehrt.

Word by Word

येनby which (act/means)

प्रीणातिpleases/satisfies

पितरम्father

तेनby that (same means)

प्रीतःpleased

प्रजापतिःPrajapati (Lord of creatures)

प्रीणातिpleases/satisfies

मातरम्mother

येनby which (act/means)

पृथिवीthe Earth

तेनby that (same means)

पूजिताhonored/worshipped

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Prajāpati

Father (pitṛ)

Mother (mātṛ)

Pṛthivī (Earth)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that pleasing one’s parents is not merely a social virtue but a sacred act: honoring the father pleases Prajāpati (the cosmic lord of progeny and order), and honoring the mother is equivalent to honoring the Earth itself.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by linking everyday household conduct—especially service to parents—to divine approval and the honoring of foundational cosmic principles.