मातापितृगुरुपूजा-प्रशंसा
Praise of Venerating Mother, Father, and Teacher
ऋषय जश्न हि देवाश्न प्रीयन्ते पितृभि: सह । पूज्यमानेषु गुरुषु तस्मात् पूज्यतमो गुरु:
ṛṣayaś ca hi devāś ca prīyante pitṛbhiḥ saha | pūjyamāneṣu guruṣu tasmāt pūjyatamo guruḥ ||
ऋषयश्च हि देवाश्च प्रीयन्ते पितृभिः सह । पूज्यमानेषु गुरुषु तस्मात् पूज्यतमो गुरुः ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Reverence to the guru is presented as the highest form of honor, because it simultaneously pleases the sages, the gods, and the ancestors; thus guru-sevā and guru-pūjā are central duties within dharma.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct; here he emphasizes the ethical priority of honoring one’s teachers, linking it to cosmic and ancestral approval.