Shloka 24

पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation

Devanagari script

एतद्‌ विचिन्तितं तावत्‌ पुत्रस्य पितृगौरवम्‌ । पिता नालल्‍्पतरं स्थान चिन्तयिष्यामि मातरम्‌

Transliteration

etad vicintitaṃ tāvat putrasya pitṛgauravam | pitā nālpataraṃ sthānaṃ cintayiṣyāmi mātaram ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “So far I have reflected on the father’s dignity and weight in the life of a son. On reflection it becomes clear that a father is no trivial support or refuge for his child. Now I shall consider the mother as well.”

Word by Word

• {'etad': 'this (matter)', 'vicintitam': 'considered, reflected upon', 'tāvat': 'so far, up to this point', 'putrasya': 'of the son', 'pitṛ-gauravam': 'the father’s greatness/dignity

• the weight of paternal authority and reverence', 'pitā': 'father', 'na': 'not', 'alpataraṃ': 'smaller, insignificant, trivial', 'sthānam': 'place

• refuge', 'cintayiṣyāmi': 'I shall think/consider (future tense)', 'mātaram': 'mother (accusative singular)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• father (pitā)
• son (putra)
• mother (mātā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes that a father is a profound and indispensable support in a child’s life, deserving reverence; it also signals a systematic ethical inquiry that will extend to the mother’s role, framing parental honor as a key element of dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva’s instructional discourse, Bhishma is explaining norms of righteous conduct. Here he concludes his reflection on the father’s importance for a son and transitions to discussing the mother, indicating an ordered treatment of parental duties.