Shloka 23
पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation
मुच्यते बन्धनात् पुष्पं फल वक्षात् प्रमुच्यते । क्लिश्यन्नपि सुतं स्नेहै: पिता पुत्र न मुडचति
bhīṣma uvāca | mucyate bandhanāt puṣpaṃ phalaṃ vṛkṣāt pramucyate | kliśyann api sutaṃ snehaiḥ pitā putra na muñcati ||
Bhishma dit : «La fleur se détache de sa tige ; le fruit se sépare de l’arbre. Pourtant un père, même accablé par l’épreuve, n’abandonne pas le fils qu’il a élevé avec affection. Tel est le lien durable de l’amour parental, qui refuse d’être tranché jusque dans la souffrance.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Natural objects separate from their supports (flower from stalk, fruit from tree), but the ethical point is that a father’s responsibility and affection toward his son is not easily severed; parental duty persists even amid personal suffering.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs on dharma and conduct. Here he uses a simple nature-based analogy to emphasize the strength of familial bonds—especially the father’s attachment and obligation to the son he has raised with love.