Shloka 2
पिता परं दैवतं मानवानां मातुर्विशिष्टं पितरं वदन्ति । ज्ञानस्य लाभं॑ परम॑ वदन्ति जितेन्द्रियार्था: परमाप्नुवन्ति,पिता मनुष्योंके लिये सर्वश्रेष्ठ देवता है। कोई-कोई पिताको मातासे भी बढ़कर बताते हैं। श्रेष्ठ पुरुष ज्ञानके लाभको ही परम लाभ कहते हैं। जिन्होंने श्रोत्र आदि इन्द्रियों और शब्द आदि विषयोंपर विजय पा ली है, वे परमपदको प्राप्त होते हैं
pitā paraṁ daivataṁ mānavānāṁ mātur viśiṣṭaṁ pitaraṁ vadanti | jñānasya lābhaṁ paramaṁ vadanti jitendriyārthāḥ param āpnuvanti ||
Parāśara said: “For human beings, the father is the highest divinity. Some even declare the father superior to the mother. The wise call the gain of true knowledge the supreme gain; and those who have conquered the senses and their objects attain the highest state.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates reverence for one’s father as a major dharmic duty, while also asserting that the highest human attainment is the gain of true knowledge; mastery over the senses and their objects is presented as the practical discipline that leads to the supreme state.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, the sage Parāśara is delivering ethical and spiritual counsel, linking social dharma (honoring parents, especially the father) with inner discipline (sense-control) and the ultimate goal (attaining the highest state through knowledge).