Shanti Parva Adhyaya 265 Shloka 31 - Mahabharata | French | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 31

पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation

Devanagari script

“जब मातासे विछोह हो जाता है, उसी समय मनुष्य अपनेको बूढ़ा समझने लगता है, दुखी हो जाता है और उसके लिये सारा संसार सूना प्रतीत होने लगता है ।।

Transliteration

mātā-viyoge jāte tu tadāiva puruṣo naraḥ | vṛddhaṃ manyate cātmānaṃ duḥkhī bhavati caiva hi | tasya sarvaṃ jagac chūnyaṃ pratibhāti || nāsti mātṛ-samā chāyā nāsti mātṛ-samā gatiḥ | nāsti mātṛ-samaṃ trāṇaṃ nāsti mātṛ-samā priyā ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : Quand survient la séparation d’avec la mère, à cet instant même l’homme se croit vieux, il s’attriste, et le monde entier lui paraît désert. Il n’est point d’ombre comme celle de la mère ; point de refuge comparable à elle. Il n’est point de protection égale à la mère, et pour l’enfant rien n’est aussi cher que la mère.

Word by Word

नास्तिis not / does not exist

मातृ-समाequal to a mother / like a mother

छायाshade, shelter

नास्तिis not

मातृ-समाlike a mother

गतिःrefuge, course, resort

नास्तिis not

मातृ-समम्like a mother (such as)

त्राणम्protection, rescue

नास्तिis not

मातृ-समाlike a mother

प्रियाbeloved (one), dear (thing/person)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

mother (mātā)

child (implied)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A mother’s presence is portrayed as the unmatched source of shelter, support, protection, and affection; losing her makes life feel suddenly aged and empty. Ethically, it urges reverence, gratitude, and care toward one’s mother as a foundational dharmic duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he emphasizes the unique role of the mother in human life, using vivid psychological effects of maternal separation to teach the value of familial bonds and duty.