Shloka 16
पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation
जातकर्मणि यत् प्राह पिता यच्चोपकर्मणि । पर्याप्त: स दृढीकार: पितुर्गौरवनिश्चये
jātakarmaṇi yat prāha pitā yac copakarmaṇi | paryāptaḥ sa dṛḍhīkāraḥ pitur gauravaniścaye ||
Bhīṣma dit : «La bénédiction qu’un père prononce lors du rite de naissance (jātakarma) et de nouveau lors du rite d’initiation/début de l’étude védique (upakarma) suffit à elle seule—et constitue une confirmation ferme—pour établir la dignité et le poids d’autorité du père.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A father’s solemn words spoken during key saṃskāras (especially at birth and initiation into disciplined learning) carry enduring moral authority; they are treated as strong evidence for establishing the father’s honor and rightful standing, and by extension reinforce respect for elders and the dharmic weight of family rites.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, he points to the father’s blessings uttered during foundational life-rites as a decisive confirmation of paternal dignity—using ritual context to argue that such speech is not casual but ethically binding and socially authoritative.