Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, 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 ||
毗湿摩说道：“在敬奉的衡量中，无人能胜过母亲；世间没有一位师长可与她等同。阿阇梨（ācārya）胜过十位通晓吠陀的学者（śrotriya）；优波陀耶（upādhyāya，授业之师）又胜过十位阿阇梨；父亲胜过十位优波陀耶；而母亲甚至胜过十位父亲。凭她一身的尊严，便足以使整个大地黯然失色。因此，没有任何古鲁可与母亲相比——依我之见，古鲁重于父亲，而母亲更重。”
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.