Shloka 35

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

Devanagari script

माता जानाति यद्वोत्र माता जानाति यस्य स: | मातुर्भरणमात्रेण प्रीति: स्नेह: पितु: प्रजा:

Transliteration

mātā jānāti yad vo ’tra mātā jānāti yasya saḥ | mātur bharaṇamātreṇa prītiḥ snehaḥ pituḥ prajāḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “Here, it is the mother who knows what one’s lineage truly is; it is the mother who knows whose son he is. Because she alone bears and sustains the child, affection and intimate love arise chiefly in her. The father’s relation to offspring is, in comparison, largely one of authority and social claim.”

Word by Word

• {'mātā': 'mother', 'jānāti': 'knows', 'yad': 'what

• that which', 'atra': 'here

• in this matter', 'yasya': 'of whom

• whose', 'saḥ': 'he', 'mātuḥ': 'of the mother', 'bharaṇa-mātreṇa': 'by the mere act of bearing/sustaining (alone)', 'prītiḥ': 'affection

• fondness', 'snehaḥ': 'tender love

• intimacy', 'pituḥ': 'of the father', 'prajāḥ': 'offspring

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• mother
• father
• offspring/children

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the mother’s primary, intimate bond with the child—she bears and sustains the child and therefore knows the child’s lineage and paternity most certainly; the father’s connection is portrayed as more juridical or authoritative than emotionally primary.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and social conduct, Bhishma teaches Yudhishthira about family relations and the ethical recognition of motherhood, highlighting maternal certainty and affection in contrast to paternal authority.