Shloka 33
मातापितृगुरुपूजा-प्रशंसा
Praise of Venerating Mother, Father, and Teacher
मित्रद्रोही, कृतघ्न, स्त्रीहत्यारे और गुरुघाती--इन चारोंके पापका प्रायश्चित्त हमारे सुननेमें नहीं आया है ।। एतत्सर्वमनिर्देशेनैवमुक्तं यत् कर्तव्यं पुरुषेणेह लोके । एतच्छेयो नान्यदस्माद् विशिष्टं सर्वान् धर्माननुसृत्यैतदुक्तम्,ये सारी बातें जो इस जगतमें पुरुषके द्वारा पालनीय हैं, यहाँ विस्तारके साथ बतायी गयी हैं। यही कल्याणकारी मार्ग है। इससे बढ़कर दूसरा कोई कर्तव्य नहीं है। सम्पूर्ण धर्मोका अनुसरण करके यहाँ सबका सार बताया गया है
Bhīṣma uvāca: mitradrohī kṛtaghnaḥ strīhantā guruhā ca—eteṣāṃ caturṇāṃ pāpānāṃ prāyaścittaṃ na śrutaṃ naḥ. etat sarvam anirdeśenaivam uktaṃ yat kartavyaṃ puruṣeṇeha loke; etac chreyo nānyad asmād viśiṣṭaṃ; sarvān dharmān anusṛtyaitad uktaṃ.
Bhishma said: For four grievous sins—betraying a friend, ingratitude, the killing of a woman, and the slaying of one’s teacher—we have not heard of any expiation. All that a person ought to do in this world has thus been stated in summary, without excessive detail. This is the path of true welfare; there is no duty higher than this. Following the whole range of dharma, its essence has been declared here.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma identifies four transgressions—betraying a friend, ingratitude, killing a woman, and killing one’s teacher—as so severe that no expiation is traditionally known for them, and he frames his preceding instruction as a distilled essence of dharma: the highest welfare lies in adhering to this summarized moral path.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhishthira, Bhishma continues his ethical discourse, emphasizing the gravity of certain crimes and concluding that the duties he has outlined are the essential, most beneficial guidance drawn from the broader body of dharma.