Shloka 27
मातापितृगुरुपूजा-प्रशंसा
Praise of Venerating Mother, Father, and Teacher
ऋषय जश्न हि देवाश्न प्रीयन्ते पितृभि: सह । पूज्यमानेषु गुरुषु तस्मात् पूज्यतमो गुरु:
ṛṣayaś ca hi devāś ca prīyante pitṛbhiḥ saha | pūjyamāneṣu guruṣu tasmāt pūjyatamo guruḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: When one honors one’s teachers, the sages and the gods—together with the ancestors—are pleased. Therefore, among all who are worthy of reverence, the teacher is the most worthy of reverence.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reverence to the guru is presented as the highest form of honor, because it simultaneously pleases the sages, the gods, and the ancestors; thus guru-sevā and guru-pūjā are central duties within dharma.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct; here he emphasizes the ethical priority of honoring one’s teachers, linking it to cosmic and ancestral approval.