Shloka 196
मातापितृगुरुपूजा-प्रशंसा
Praise of Venerating Mother, Father, and Teacher
आचार्यशिष्टा या जाति: सा दिव्या साजरामरा | भारत! पिता और माता केवल शरीरको ही जन्म देते हैं; परंतु आचार्यका उपदेश प्राप्त करके जो द्वितीय जन्म उपलब्ध होता है, वह दिव्य है, अजर-अमर है
ācārya-śiṣṭā yā jātiḥ sā divyā sājarāmarā | bhārata! pitā ca mātā ca kevalaṃ śarīram eva janayataḥ; kintu ācāryopadeśa-prāptyā yo dvitīyo janma labhyate sa divyaḥ ajaro'maraḥ ||
Bhishma said: “O Bharata, the lineage and true ‘birth’ shaped by a teacher’s discipline is divine and beyond decay and death. A father and mother bring forth only the body; but the second birth gained through receiving the teacher’s instruction is a higher birth—sacred, ageless, and deathless.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma distinguishes biological birth from a higher ‘second birth’ produced by disciplined learning and the teacher’s instruction. Parents generate the body, but the guru’s upadeśa awakens dharma, character, and enduring wisdom—hence it is called divine, ‘ageless and deathless’ in value and consequence.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira after the war, Bhishma continues his discourse on dharma and right living. Here he emphasizes the formative authority of the ācārya and the transformative power of education and ethical training over mere physical birth.