Shloka 25
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
अपश्यतां प्रियान् पुत्रांस्तेषां शोको न तिष्ठति । न च पुष्णन्ति संवृद्धास्ते मातापितरी क्वचित्
apaśyatāṁ priyān putrāṁs teṣāṁ śoko na tiṣṭhati | na ca puṣṇanti saṁvṛddhās te mātāpitarī kvacit ||
Bhīṣma said: “When beloved sons are not seen—when they are absent from one’s sight—the grief of those parents does not remain fixed and consuming. Yet, even when those sons have grown up, they do not, at any time, truly sustain and care for their mother and father.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights a moral tension: parents’ grief over absent children may not remain constant, but grown sons often fail in their dharma of supporting and caring for their parents. The verse underscores filial responsibility as an ethical obligation, not merely an emotional bond.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction, Bhīṣma continues advising on righteous conduct and social duties. Here he reflects on family relations—especially the expectations placed on sons—and critiques the neglect of parents even after children reach maturity.