Shloka 105
उपवासविधि-प्रश्नः
Inquiry into the Discipline of Fasting
भरतश्रेष्ठ! बड़ी बहिन भी माताके समान है। इसी तरह बड़े भाईकी पत्नी तथा बचपनमें जिसका दूध पिया गया हो, वह धाय भी माताके समान है ।।
bharataśreṣṭha! bṛhatī bhaginī api mātṛ-samānā. tathā bṛhataḥ bhrātuḥ patnī tathā ca bālye yasyāḥ stanyaṃ pītaṃ sā dhātrī api mātṛ-samānā.
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai yang terbaik dalam kalangan Bharata, kakak sulung hendaklah dipandang setara dengan ibu. Demikian juga, isteri abang sulung—dan ibu susuan yang daripadanya kita minum susu ketika kecil—hendaklah diperlakukan setara dengan ibu.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a rule of dharmic conduct: certain women in one’s family and upbringing—elder sister, elder brother’s wife, and the wet-nurse—must be honored with the same reverence and restraint one shows to one’s mother.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on norms of righteous behavior. Here he specifies who should be regarded as ‘mother-like’ (mātṛ-samā) to guide proper respect, boundaries, and gratitude within the household and society.