Shloka 17
पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation
गुरुरग्र्य: परो धर्म: पोषणाध्यापनान्वित: । पिता यदाह धर्म: स वेदेष्वपि सुनिश्चित:
gurur agryaḥ paro dharmaḥ poṣaṇādhyāpanānvitāḥ | pitā yad āha dharmaḥ sa vedeṣv api suniścitaḥ ||
Bhishma teaches that a father is the foremost guru because he sustains and educates his child. For this reason he embodies the highest dharma. Whatever a father enjoins should be accepted as one’s duty, for the Vedas too affirm this as a settled principle of righteousness.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A father is the primary guru because he both sustains and educates; therefore honoring and following a father’s rightful instruction is presented as a form of supreme dharma, supported by Vedic authority.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma is advising Yudhishthira on ethical duties within social and family life, emphasizing the father’s role as teacher and the moral weight of his guidance.