Shloka 44
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
जननीषु च वर्तन्ते ये न सम्यग् युधिष्ठिर । सदेवकेषु लोकेषु ये न वर्तन्ति मानवा:
jananīṣu ca vartante ye na samyag yudhiṣṭhira | sadevakeṣu lokeṣu ye na vartanti mānavāḥ |
युधिष्ठिर, ये जननीषु न सम्यग् वर्तन्ते, सदेवकेषु लोकेषु च ये मानवा न वर्तन्ति; तेषां दुर्गतिं विदित्वा, तेनैव विवेकेन पापाचारिणाम् अधोगतिं, तिर्यग्योनिषु पतितानां प्राणिनां नानाविधा गतयश्च अवगच्छ।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Proper conduct toward one’s mother (and, by extension, toward the divine order and the wider world) is a foundational dharmic duty. Neglect of such reverence and right behavior leads to degradation and painful destinies, including lower rebirths; understanding karma’s consequences should guide ethical living.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma continues instructing Yudhishthira on dharma after the war. Here he warns that those who fail in right conduct—especially toward mothers and within the god-ordered world—incur ruin, and he urges Yudhishthira to grasp the logic of karmic outcomes across human and animal realms.