Shloka 23
मातापितृगुरुपूजा-प्रशंसा
Praise of Venerating Mother, Father, and Teacher
विद्यां श्र॒त्वा ये गुरु नाद्रियन्ते प्रत्यासन्ना मनसा कर्मणा वा | तेषां पापं भ्रूणहत्याविशिष्टं नान्यस्तेभ्य: पापकृदस्ति लोके । यथैव ते गुरुभिर्भावनीया- स्तथा तेषां गुरवो<भ्यर्चनीया:
Bhīṣma uvāca | vidyāṁ śrutvā ye guruṁ nādriyante pratyāsannā manasā karmaṇā vā | teṣāṁ pāpaṁ bhrūṇahatyāviśiṣṭaṁ nānyas tebhyaḥ pāpakṛd asti loke | yathaiva te gurubhir bhāvanīyās tathā teṣāṁ guravo 'bhyarcanīyāḥ |
Bhishma dit : Ceux qui, après avoir appris la connaissance sacrée, n’honorent pas leur maître—ceux qui, bien qu’ils vivent tout près, ne servent pas le guru par la pensée, la parole et l’acte—encourent un péché comparable (véritablement égal) au meurtre d’un embryon. En ce monde, nul pécheur n’est plus grand qu’eux. De même qu’il est du devoir des maîtres de former et d’élever leurs disciples, de même il est du devoir des disciples de vénérer et d’honorer leurs maîtres.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Learning is ethically incomplete without reverence and service to the teacher. Disrespecting the guru after receiving instruction is condemned as an extremely grave moral fault; students must honor and worship their teachers, while teachers must nurture students toward inner uplift.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira with moral guidance. Here he emphasizes the reciprocal duties in education: the guru’s responsibility to cultivate the student and the student’s obligation to honor and serve the guru.