Shloka 11
मातापितृगुरुपूजा-प्रशंसा
Praise of Venerating Mother, Father, and Teacher
इन तीनोंकी आज्ञाका कभी उल्लंघन न करे
bhīṣma uvāca | imāṃs trīnājñāṃ kadācit na laṅghayet, etebhyo bhojanaṃ dattvā pūrvaṃ svayaṃ na bhuñjīta, eteṣu doṣāropaṇaṃ na kuryāt, sadā ca teṣāṃ sevāyāṃ saṃlagnas tiṣṭhet | etad eva paramam puṇyakarma | nṛpaśreṣṭha, teṣāṃ sevayā tvaṃ kīrtiṃ pavitraṃ yaśaś ca uttamalokāṃś ca sarvān prāpsyasi ||
Bhishma disse: “Nunca transgridas as ordens destes três. Não comas antes de alimentá-los; não os culpes; e permanece constantemente dedicado a servi-los. Este é, de fato, o ato meritório mais elevado. Ó melhor dos reis, servindo-os alcançarás fama, renome puro e todos os mundos mais altos.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that the highest merit lies in disciplined reverence: obeying the injunctions of the revered three, feeding them before oneself, refraining from blaming them, and remaining steadily devoted to their service—actions that yield both moral purity and exalted reward.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma addresses the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) and prescribes concrete household and ethical conduct—especially prioritizing the care and honor of a specified triad—promising fame and higher spiritual attainments as the fruit of such service.