Shloka 32
Pāṇḍu’s Marriages, Conquests, and Triumphal Return (पाण्डोर्विवाह-विजय-प्रत्यागमनम्)
तेषां पिता यथा स्वामी तथा माता न संशय: । विधानविहित: सत्यं यथा मे प्रथम: सुतः
teṣāṃ pitā yathā svāmī tathā mātā na saṃśayaḥ | vidhāna-vihitaḥ satyaṃ yathā me prathamaḥ sutaḥ |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Just as the father is the rightful lord and guardian of the sons, so too is the mother—there is no doubt of this. Truly, by the ordinance of destiny, you are my first-born son; and in the same way Vicitravīrya was my youngest son. Therefore, as Bhīṣma is his brother by the father, so you also are his brother by the mother. This is my settled conviction; act as you judge best. In upholding this truth, Bhīṣma, the son of Śāntanu, is faithfully maintaining dharma.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms that parental authority and responsibility over children belongs equally to both father and mother, and that ethical decisions about kinship and duty should be grounded in truth (satya) and dharma rather than convenience.
A claim about kinship is being ethically justified: the speaker argues that brotherhood can be established through the mother as well as through the father, and praises Bhīṣma for adhering to truth and dharma in recognizing and acting upon these familial obligations.