Shloka 24

पापात्म-धर्मात्म-लक्षणम् तथा निर्वेदेन मोक्षमार्गः | Marks of the Sinful and the Righteous; Dispassion (Nirveda) as a Path to Liberation

Devanagari script

एतद्‌ विचिन्तितं तावत्‌ पुत्रस्य पितृगौरवम्‌ । पिता नालल्‍्पतरं स्थान चिन्तयिष्यामि मातरम्‌

Transliteration

etad vicintitaṃ tāvat putrasya pitṛgauravam | pitā nālpataraṃ sthānaṃ cintayiṣyāmi mātaram ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“至此我已思量父亲在儿子生命中的尊严与分量。细加省察便知，父亲绝非孩子微不足道的依靠与庇护。如今我也将论及母亲。”

Word by Word

• {'etad': 'this (matter)', 'vicintitam': 'considered, reflected upon', 'tāvat': 'so far, up to this point', 'putrasya': 'of the son', 'pitṛ-gauravam': 'the father’s greatness/dignity

• the weight of paternal authority and reverence', 'pitā': 'father', 'na': 'not', 'alpataraṃ': 'smaller, insignificant, trivial', 'sthānam': 'place

• refuge', 'cintayiṣyāmi': 'I shall think/consider (future tense)', 'mātaram': 'mother (accusative singular)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• father (pitā)
• son (putra)
• mother (mātā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes that a father is a profound and indispensable support in a child’s life, deserving reverence; it also signals a systematic ethical inquiry that will extend to the mother’s role, framing parental honor as a key element of dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva’s instructional discourse, Bhishma is explaining norms of righteous conduct. Here he concludes his reflection on the father’s importance for a son and transitions to discussing the mother, indicating an ordered treatment of parental duties.