Shanti Parva Adhyaya 265 Shloka 32 - Mahabharata | English | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 32

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

Devanagari script

कुक्षिसंधारणाद्‌ धात्री जननाज्जननी स्मृता । अड्जनां वर्धनादम्बा वीरसूत्वेन वीरसू:

Transliteration

kukṣi-saṃdhāraṇād dhātrī jananāj jananī smṛtā | aṅganāṃ vardhanād ambā vīra-sūtvēna vīra-sūḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “Because she bears the child within her womb, a mother is called Dhātrī (the sustainer). Because she gives birth, she is remembered as Jananī (the begetter). Because she nurtures and raises the child, she is called Ambā (mother). And because she brings forth heroic offspring, she is termed Vīrasū (mother of heroes).”

Word by Word

कुक्षि-संधारणात्from (the act of) sustaining in the womb

धात्रीnurse; bearer; sustainer

जननात्from giving birth

जननीmother; begetter

स्मृताis called/considered

अङ्ग-जनानाम्of the children/offspring (lit. body-born)

वर्धनात्from nourishing/rearing

अम्बाmother (affectionate term)

वीर-सूत्वेनby/through bearing heroes (valiant offspring)

वीर-सूःbearer of heroes; mother of heroes

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse ethically elevates motherhood by defining it through concrete duties—bearing, giving birth, nurturing, and raising worthy (even heroic) children—showing that honorific titles arise from sustained responsibility and care.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and social values; here he explains traditional epithets for ‘mother’ by linking each name to a specific maternal function.