Shloka 26
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
“यद्यपि उनके बच्चे बड़े हो जानेपर अपने माँ-बापका पालन-पोषण नहीं करते हैं तो भी अपने प्यारे बच्चोंको न देखनेपर उनका शोक काबूमें नहीं रहता ।।
yady api te bālā bṛddhībhūya mātā-pitarau na paripālayanti, tathāpi priyabālān adṛṣṭvā teṣāṃ śoko na vaśaṃ gacchati. mānuṣāṇāṃ kutaḥ sneho yeṣāṃ śoko bhaviṣyati? imaṃ kulakaraṃ putraṃ tyaktvā kva nu gamiṣyatha?
Bhishma disse: “Mesmo quando os filhos crescem e não sustentam a mãe e o pai, a dor dos pais não pode ser contida quando não veem esses filhos amados. Quão rara, de fato, é entre os homens uma afeição tal que cheguem a sofrer por seus filhos! Esta criança é a continuadora de vossa linhagem; abandonando este filho, para onde ireis?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights the powerful, often involuntary nature of parental attachment: even when children fail in their duty to support parents, parents still grieve when separated from them. He uses this to stress the moral weight of family bonds and the significance of preserving and caring for one’s lineage-bearer (kulakara).
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he appeals to the listeners’ sense of familial responsibility and natural affection, pointing to a child as the continuer of the family line and questioning how one could abandon such a son and depart.