Shloka 144
ज्येष्ठ-कनिष्ठ-धर्मः — Duties of Elders and Juniors
Anuśāsana-parva 108
मातु: पितुर्गुरूणां च कार्यमेवानुशासनम् । हित॑ चाप्यहितं चापि न विचार्य नरर्षभ
mātuḥ pitur gurūṇāṃ ca kāryam evānuśāsanam | hitaṃ cāpy ahitaṃ cāpi na vicārya nararṣabha ||
Bhīṣma said: “The instruction of one’s mother, father, and teachers is to be carried out as a duty—without weighing whether it seems beneficial or harmful. O bull among men, do not sit in judgment over it.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma emphasizes a dharma-based ethic of obedience: the directives of mother, father, and gurus are to be treated as binding duties, not as optional advice to be accepted only when they appear advantageous.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-focused discourse, Bhīṣma continues advising the listener (addressed as ‘nararṣabha’) on right conduct, here underscoring reverence and compliance toward parental and teacherly authority.