Shloka 18
मातापितृगुरुपूजा-प्रशंसा
Praise of Venerating Mother, Father, and Teacher
गुरुत्वेनाभिभवति नास्ति मातृसमो गुरु: । आचार्य सदा दस श्रोत्रियोंसे बढ़कर है। उपाध्याय (विद्यागुरु) दस आचार्योसे अधिक महत्त्व रखता है
guru-tvenābhibhavati nāsti mātṛ-samaḥ guruḥ | ācāryaḥ sadā daśa śrotriyebhyo ’dhikaḥ | upādhyāyo daśācāryebhyo ’dhikaḥ | pitā daśopādhyāyebhyo ’dhikaḥ | mātā daśa-pitṛbhyo ’py adhikā | sā ekā sva-gauraveṇa sarvāṃ pṛthivīm api tiraskaroti | ataḥ mātṛ-samaḥ anyaḥ ko ’pi guruḥ nāsti || guruḥ garīyān pitṛto mātṛtaś ca iti me matiḥ ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Sa timbangan ng paggalang, walang hihigit sa ina; walang gurong kapantay niya. Ang isang ācārya ay higit kaysa sampung marurunong na śrotriya; ang isang upādhyāya ay higit kaysa sampung ācārya; ang ama ay higit kaysa sampung upādhyāya; at ang ina ay higit pa kaysa sampung ama. Sa iisang dangal niya, natatabunan niya ang buong daigdig. Kaya’t walang gurong maihahambing sa ina—sa aking paghatol, mas mabigat ang guru kaysa ama, at mas mabigat pa ang ina.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma ranks sources of authority and gratitude, concluding that the mother is the highest object of reverence—greater even than learned teachers and the father—because her singular dignity and sacrifice ground one’s very life and moral formation.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira by laying out a hierarchy of venerable figures (śrotriya, ācārya, upādhyāya, father, mother) to clarify whom one must honor most and why.