Shloka 18

उपवासविधि-प्रश्नः

Inquiry into the Discipline of Fasting

Devanagari script

शरीरमेतौ सृजत: पिता माता च भारत

Transliteration

śarīram etau sṛjataḥ pitā mātā ca bhārata

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “O Bhārata, it is these two—father and mother—who bring the body into being.”

Word by Word

• शरीरम्: body
• शरीरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• एतौ: these two
• एतौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• सृजतः: create / generate
• Type: Verb
• Root: सृज्
• Form: Present, Third, Dual, Parasmaipada

• पिता: father
• पिता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• माता: mother
• माता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृ
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Bhārata (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• pitā (father)
• mātā (mother)
• śarīra (body)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma grounds ethical duty in the fact of embodied existence: since one’s body arises through father and mother, reverence, gratitude, and service toward parents are presented as a primary obligation within dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and states a foundational point about human birth—parents are the immediate causes of the body—supporting subsequent guidance on honoring and serving them.