Shloka 105
उपवासविधि-प्रश्नः
Inquiry into the Discipline of Fasting
भरतश्रेष्ठ! बड़ी बहिन भी माताके समान है। इसी तरह बड़े भाईकी पत्नी तथा बचपनमें जिसका दूध पिया गया हो, वह धाय भी माताके समान है ।।
bharataśreṣṭha! bṛhatī bhaginī api mātṛ-samānā. tathā bṛhataḥ bhrātuḥ patnī tathā ca bālye yasyāḥ stanyaṃ pītaṃ sā dhātrī api mātṛ-samānā.
Bhishma dijo: «Oh, el mejor de los Bharata, a la hermana mayor se la debe considerar igual que a la madre. Del mismo modo, la esposa del hermano mayor—y también la nodriza de cuya leche se bebió en la niñez—deben ser tratadas igualmente como una madre».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a rule of dharmic conduct: certain women in one’s family and upbringing—elder sister, elder brother’s wife, and the wet-nurse—must be honored with the same reverence and restraint one shows to one’s mother.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on norms of righteous behavior. Here he specifies who should be regarded as ‘mother-like’ (mātṛ-samā) to guide proper respect, boundaries, and gratitude within the household and society.