Shloka 21
पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation
पिता धर्म: पिता स्वर्ग: पिता हि परमं तपः । पितरि प्रीतिमापन्ने सर्वा: प्रीयन्ति देवता:
pitā dharmaḥ pitā svargaḥ pitā hi paramaṃ tapaḥ | pitari prītim āpanne sarvāḥ prīyanti devatāḥ ||
Itinuro ni Bhīṣma: “Kaya’t ang ama ay dapat ituring na mismong dharma, mismong langit, at ang pinakamataas na anyo ng pag-aayuno at pagsasanay-espirituwal. Kapag ang ama ay tunay na nalulugod, para bang nalulugod ang lahat ng mga diyos.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Honoring and serving one’s father is presented as a direct embodiment of dharma, a source of spiritual merit comparable to heaven, and a supreme form of tapas; pleasing the father symbolizes aligning oneself with the divine moral order, thereby ‘pleasing the gods’.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Bhishma is advising Yudhishthira on ethical duties; here he emphasizes the primacy of filial reverence, especially toward the father, as a foundational pillar of dharma.