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 ||
फूल डंठल से छूट जाता है, फल वृक्ष से अलग हो जाता है; पर पिता, चाहे कितने ही कष्ट में क्यों न हो, स्नेह से पाले हुए पुत्र को नहीं छोड़ता—माता-पिता का यह बंधन दुःख में भी नहीं कटता।
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.