Shloka 18
पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation
प्रीतिमात्र पितु: पुत्र: सर्व पुत्रस्य वै पिता । शरीरादीनि देयानि पिता त्वेक: प्रयच्छति,“पुत्र पिताकी सम्पूर्ण प्रीतिरूप है और पिता पुत्रका सर्वस्व है। केवल पिता ही पुत्रको देह आदि सम्पूर्ण देने योग्य वस्तुओंको देता है
prītimātraḥ pituḥ putraḥ sarvaṃ putrasya vai pitā | śarīrādīni deyāni pitā tv ekaḥ prayacchati ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Ein Sohn ist gleichsam die leibhaftige Gestalt der Zuneigung des Vaters; und für den Sohn ist der Vater wahrhaft sein ganzer Halt und Besitz. Der Vater allein verleiht dem Sohn den Leib und alle anderen Gaben, die zu geben sind.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates the father’s role as the primary benefactor: the son embodies the father’s love, while the father is the son’s ‘all’ because he is the source of the son’s embodied life and the giver of essential endowments. Ethically, it supports gratitude and duty toward parents (pitṛ-dharma).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma after the war, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira about righteous conduct and social/household duties. Here he underscores the moral weight of the father–son relationship, framing the father as the foundational giver and the son as the vessel of paternal affection.