Honouring Mother, Father and Teacher

Verse 1 (12.108.1)

महानयं धर्मपथो बहुशाखश्च भारत । किंस्विदेवेह धर्माणामनुष्ठेयतमं मतम् ॥

mahānayaṃ dharmapatho bahuśākhaśca bhārata | kiṃsvideveha dharmāṇāmanuṣṭheyatamaṃ matam

This path of dharma is vast and has many branches, O Bharata. Of all the duties, which is held to be the one most to be practised here?

Verse 2 (12.108.2)

किं कार्यं सर्वभूतानां गरीयो भवतो मतम् । यथाऽहं परमं धर्ममिह च प्रेत्य चाप्नुयाम् ॥

kiṃ kāryaṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ garīyo bhavato matam | yathā'haṃ paramaṃ dharmamiha ca pretya cāpnuyām

What, in your view, is the weightiest duty for all beings, so that I may attain the highest dharma both here and after death?

Verse 3 (12.108.3)

मातापित्रोर्गुरूणां च पूजा बहुमता मम । अत्र वर्तन्नरो लोकान्यशश्च महदश्नुते ॥

mātāpitrorgurūṇāṃ ca pūjā bahumatā mama | atra vartannaro lokānyaśaśca mahadaśnute

Reverence for mother, father and teachers is, in my view, the most esteemed. A man who abides in it wins worlds and great fame.

Verse 4 (12.108.4)

यदेते ह्यनुजानीयुः कर्म तात सुपूजिताः । धर्मं धर्मविरुद्धं वा तत्कर्तव्यं युधिष्ठिर ॥

yadete hyanujānīyuḥ karma tāta supūjitāḥ | dharmaṃ dharmaviruddhaṃ vā tatkartavyaṃ yudhiṣṭhira

Whatever act these elders, when well honoured, permit, whether it be dharma or contrary to dharma, that is what must be done, Yudhishthira, my son.

Verse 5 (12.108.5)

न तैरभ्यननुज्ञातो धर्ममन्यं समाचरेत् । यं मे तेऽभ्यनुजानीयुः स धर्म इति निश्चयः ॥

na tairabhyananujñāto dharmamanyaṃ samācaret | yaṃ me te'bhyanujānīyuḥ sa dharma iti niścayaḥ

Without their leave one should not practise any other dharma. What they permit me, that is dharma: this is settled.

Verse 6 (12.108.6)

एत एव त्रयो लोका एत एवाश्रमास्त्रयः । एत एव त्रयो वेदा एत एव त्रयोऽग्नयः ॥

eta eva trayo lokā eta evāśramāstrayaḥ | eta eva trayo vedā eta eva trayo'gnayaḥ

These three are the three worlds, these three are the three orders of life, these three are the three Vedas, these three are the three fires.

Verse 7 (12.108.7)

पिता वै गार्हपत्योऽग्निर्माताऽग्निर्दक्षिणः स्मृतः । गुरुराहवनीयस्तु साऽग्नित्रेता गरीयसी ॥

pitā vai gārhapatyo'gnirmātā'gnirdakṣiṇaḥ smṛtaḥ | gururāhavanīyastu sā'gnitretā garīyasī

The father is the Garhapatya fire; the mother is remembered as the Dakshina fire; the teacher is the Ahavaniya. This triad of fires is the weightiest.

Verse 8 (12.108.8)

त्रिष्वप्रमाद्यन्नेतेषु त्रींल्लोकानपि जेष्यसि । पितृवृत्त्या त्विमं लोकं मातृवृत्त्या तथा परम् ॥

triṣvapramādyanneteṣu trīṃllokānapi jeṣyasi | pitṛvṛttyā tvimaṃ lokaṃ mātṛvṛttyā tathā param

If you are heedless of none of these three, you will conquer even the three worlds: this world by service to your father, the next by service to your mother,

Note on the text: Corrected त्रील्लोँकानपि → त्रींल्लोकानपि (misprint in Wikisource; misplaced candrabindu on the conjunct; the critical edition reads trīṃl lokān). The alignment found no match. Lines = CE 12.109.8a and 12.109.8c (the first two lines of the CE's three-line verse 12.109.8; its third line is the first line of Wikisource's next verse).

Verse 9 (12.108.9)

ब्रह्मलोकं गुरोर्वृत्त्या नियमेन तरिष्यसि । सम्यगेतेषु वर्तस्व त्रिषु लोकेषु भारत ॥

brahmalokaṃ gurorvṛttyā niyamena tariṣyasi | samyageteṣu vartasva triṣu lokeṣu bhārata

and by disciplined service to your teacher you will cross to the world of Brahma. Conduct yourself rightly toward these three, O Bharata, within the three worlds.

Note on the text: The alignment found no match. Line 1 = CE 12.109.8e (brahmalokaṃ guror vṛttyā nityam eva cariṣyasi; Wikisource नियमेन तरिष्यसि is kept as a variant), line 2 = CE 12.109.9a. Wikisource regroups the CE's three-line verse 12.109.8 (8a, 8c, 8e) and verse 9 into couplets.

Verse 10 (12.108.10)

यशः प्राप्स्यसि भद्रं ते धर्मं च सुमहाफलम् । नैतानतिशयीथास्त्वं नात्यश्नीथा न दूषयेः ॥

yaśaḥ prāpsyasi bhadraṃ te dharmaṃ ca sumahāphalam | naitānatiśayīthāstvaṃ nātyaśnīthā na dūṣayeḥ

You will gain fame, blessings on you, and a dharma of very great fruit. You must not outdo them, nor eat more than they, nor wrong them.

Note on the text: The alignment found no match. Lines = CE 12.109.9c and 12.109.10a (naitān atiśayej jātu nātyaśnīyān na dūṣayet in the CE).

Verse 11 (12.108.11)

नित्यं परिचरेश्चैव तद्वै सुकृतमुत्तमम् । कीर्तिं पुण्यं यशो लोकान्प्राप्स्यसे त्वं जनाधिप ॥

nityaṃ paricareścaiva tadvai sukṛtamuttamam | kīrtiṃ puṇyaṃ yaśo lokānprāpsyase tvaṃ janādhipa

Serve them always: that is indeed the best of good deeds. Thereby, O lord of the people, you will gain renown, merit, fame and worlds.

Note on the text: Corrected कीर्ति पुण्यं → कीर्तिं पुण्यं (misprint in Wikisource; anusvara dropped; कीर्तिम् is the object of प्राप्स्यसे and the critical edition reads kīrtiṃ). The alignment found no match. Lines = CE 12.109.10c and 12.109.10e.

Verse 12 (12.108.12)

सर्वे तस्यादृता लोका यस्यैते त्रय आदृताः । अनादृतास्तु यस्यैते सर्वास्तस्याफलाः क्रियाः ॥

sarve tasyādṛtā lokā yasyaite traya ādṛtāḥ | anādṛtāstu yasyaite sarvāstasyāphalāḥ kriyāḥ

For one who honours these three, all the worlds are honoured; for one who does not honour them, all his rites are fruitless.

Verse 13 (12.108.13)

न चायं न परो लोको न यशस्तस्य भारत । अमानिता नित्यमेव यस्यैते गुरवस्त्रयः ॥

na cāyaṃ na paro loko na yaśastasya bhārata | amānitā nityameva yasyaite guravastrayaḥ

Neither this world nor the next, nor fame, is his, O Bharata, who never honours these three elders.

Verse 14 (12.108.14)

न चास्मिन्न परे लोके यशस्तस्य प्रकाशते । यच्चान्यदपि कल्याणं पारत्रं समुदाहृतम् ॥

na cāsminna pare loke yaśastasya prakāśate | yaccānyadapi kalyāṇaṃ pāratraṃ samudāhṛtam

His fame shines neither in this world nor in the next, nor does he receive any other blessing that is spoken of as belonging to the world beyond.

Verse 15 (12.108.15)

तेभ्य एव हि यत्सर्वं कृत्यं यन्निसृजाम्यहम् । तदासीन्मे शतगुणं सहस्रगुणमेव च । तस्मान्मे संप्रकाशन्ते त्रयो लोका युधिष्ठिर ॥

tebhya eva hi yatsarvaṃ kṛtyaṃ yannisṛjāmyaham | tadāsīnme śataguṇaṃ sahasraguṇameva ca | tasmānme saṃprakāśante trayo lokā yudhiṣṭhira

Whatever service was to be done, whatever I gave up, I gave to them alone, and it came back to me a hundredfold and a thousandfold. Therefore the three worlds shine clear to me, Yudhishthira.

Verse 16 (12.108.16)

दशैव तु सदाऽऽचार्यः श्रोत्रियानधितिष्ठति । दशाचार्यानुपाध्याय उपाध्यायान्पिता दश ॥

daśaiva tu sadā''cāryaḥ śrotriyānadhitiṣṭhati | daśācāryānupādhyāya upādhyāyānpitā daśa

An acharya always stands above ten Shrotriyas; an upadhyaya stands above ten acharyas; a father above ten upadhyayas;

Verse 17 (12.108.17)

पितॄन्दश तु मातैका सर्वां वा पृथिवीमपि । गुरुत्वेनाभिभवति नास्ति मातृसमो गुरुः ॥

pitṝndaśa tu mātaikā sarvāṃ vā pṛthivīmapi | gurutvenābhibhavati nāsti mātṛsamo guruḥ

but the mother alone, in weight, outweighs ten fathers, or even the whole earth. There is no teacher equal to a mother.

Note on the text: The alignment found no match. Lines = CE 12.109.16a and 12.109.16c.

Verse 18 (12.108.18)

गुरुर्गरीयान्पितृतो मातृतश्चेति मे मतिः । उभौ हि मातापितरौ जन्मन्येवोपयुज्यतः ॥

gururgarīyānpitṛto mātṛtaśceti me matiḥ | ubhau hi mātāpitarau janmanyevopayujyataḥ

My view is that the teacher is weightier than both father and mother; for the parents serve their purpose only at one's birth.

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.109.16e and 12.109.17a. The alignment found no match for this couplet.

Verse 19 (12.108.19)

शरीरमेतौ सृजतः पिता माता च भारत । आचार्यशिष्टा या जातिः सा सम्यगजरामरा ॥

śarīrametau sṛjataḥ pitā mātā ca bhārata | ācāryaśiṣṭā yā jātiḥ sā samyagajarāmarā

Father and mother, O Bharata, create the body; but the birth that is taught by the teacher is truly free from old age and death.

Note on the text: Corrected सासम्यगजरामरा → सा सम्यगजरामरा (misprint in Wikisource; missing space between सा and सम्यगजरामरा). Lines = CE 12.109.17c and 12.109.17e (CE: sā divyā sājarāmarā; Wikisource सा सम्यगजरामरा is kept as a variant). The alignment found no match.

Verse 20 (12.108.20)

अवध्या हि सदा माता पिता चाप्यपकारिणौ ॥

avadhyā hi sadā mātā pitā cāpyapakāriṇau

Mother and father are never to be put to death, even when they have wronged one.

Note on the text: Corrected चाप्युपचारिणौ → चाप्यपकारिणौ (misprint in Wikisource; उप for अप, which turns the sense of the line around; the critical edition reads apakāriṇau). One-line verse on the page (12-108-20a) = CE 12.109.18a; the CE's three-line verse 12.109.18 is split by Wikisource across its verses 20 and 21. The alignment found no match.

Verse 21 (12.108.21)

न स दुष्यति तत्कृत्वा न च ते दूषयन्ति तम् । धर्माय यतमानानां विदुर्देवाः सहर्षिभिः ॥

na sa duṣyati tatkṛtvā na ca te dūṣayanti tam | dharmāya yatamānānāṃ vidurdevāḥ saharṣibhiḥ

By doing so he incurs no guilt, nor do they stain him. The gods, together with the sages, know this of those who strive for dharma.

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.109.18c and 12.109.18e (CE: na saṃduṣyati tat kṛtvā). The alignment found no match.

Verse 22 (12.108.22)

य आवृणोत्यवितथेन कर्मणा । ऋतं ब्रुवन्नमृतं संप्रयच्छन् । तं मन्येथाः पितरं मातरं च । तस्मै न द्रुह्येत्कृतमस्य जानन् ॥

ya āvṛṇotyavitathena karmaṇā | ṛtaṃ bruvannamṛtaṃ saṃprayacchan | taṃ manyethāḥ pitaraṃ mātaraṃ ca | tasmai na druhyetkṛtamasya jānan

Regard as your father and mother the one who favours you by unfailing action, speaking the Veda and giving you what is deathless; knowing what he has done for you, never do him harm.

Note on the text: Four-line verse, as on the page (labelled 12-108-22a). CE 12.109.19 (a, c); Wikisource कर्मणा (the page's gloss explains it as प्रवचनेन) against CE karṇau is kept as a variant.

Verse 23 (12.108.23)

विद्यां श्रुत्वा ये गुरुं नाद्रियन्ते । प्रत्यासन्नं मनसा कर्मणा वा । तेषां पापं भ्रूणहत्याविशिष्टं । न चास्य तद्ब्रह्मफलं ददाति । यथैव ते गुरुभिर्भावनीया । स्तथैव तेषां गुरवोऽभ्यर्चनीयाः ॥

vidyāṃ śrutvā ye guruṃ nādriyante | pratyāsannaṃ manasā karmaṇā vā | teṣāṃ pāpaṃ bhrūṇahatyāviśiṣṭaṃ | na cāsya tadbrahmaphalaṃ dadāti | yathaiva te gurubhirbhāvanīyā | stathaiva teṣāṃ guravo'bhyarcanīyāḥ

Those who, having learned knowledge, do not honour the teacher who stands near them, in thought or in deed: theirs is a sin worse than killing an embryo, and that learning gives them no fruit of Brahman. Just as such pupils are to be cherished by their teachers, so their teachers in turn are to be honoured.

Note on the text: Restored from the critical edition (12.109.20): Wikisource prints only the last line of this verse (स्तथैव तेषां गुरवोऽभ्यर्चनीयाः, labelled 12-108-23f on the page, i.e. a sixth and last line only), the rest lost. Lines 1-2 are restored from CE 12.109.20a (vidyāṃ śrutvā ye guruṃ nādriyante / pratyāsannaṃ manasā karmaṇā vā), lines 3-4 from the CE star passage 12.109.20b*0248_01-02 (teṣāṃ pāpaṃ bhrūṇahatyāviśiṣṭaṃ / na cāsya tad brahmaphalaṃ dadāti), and line 5 from the first half of CE 12.109.20c (yathaiva te gurubhir bhāvanīyās), with the critical edition's words exactly; line 6 is kept as printed (CE: tathā teṣāṃ guravo 'py arcanīyāḥ).

Verse 24 (12.108.24)

तस्मात्पूजयितव्याश्च संविभज्याश्च यत्नतः । गुरवोऽर्चयितव्याश्च पुराणं धर्ममिच्छता ॥

tasmātpūjayitavyāśca saṃvibhajyāśca yatnataḥ | guravo'rcayitavyāśca purāṇaṃ dharmamicchatā

Therefore elders must be honoured and given a share with care, and teachers must be revered, by one who wishes for the ancient dharma.

Verse 25 (12.108.25)

येन प्रीणन्ति पितरस्तेन प्रीतः प्रजापतिः । प्रीणाति जननी येन पृथिवी तेन पूजिता ॥

yena prīṇanti pitarastena prītaḥ prajāpatiḥ | prīṇāti jananī yena pṛthivī tena pūjitā

What pleases the fathers pleases Prajapati; what pleases the mother honours the Earth.

Note on the text: Corrected जननीयेन → जननी येन (misprint in Wikisource; missing space between जननी and येन). CE 12.109.22 (prītāś ca pitaras tena prītaḥ pitāmahaḥ / prīṇāti mātaraṃ yena); Wikisource प्रजापतिः and जननी are kept as variants.

Verse 26 (12.108.26)

येन प्रीणात्युपाध्यायस्तेन स्याद्ब्रह्म पूजितम् । मातृतः पितृतश्चैव तस्मात्पूज्यतमो गुरुः ॥

yena prīṇātyupādhyāyastena syādbrahma pūjitam | mātṛtaḥ pitṛtaścaiva tasmātpūjyatamo guruḥ

What pleases the teacher honours Brahman. Than mother and than father, therefore, the guru is the one most to be worshipped.

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.109.23a and 12.109.23c. The alignment found no match.

Verse 27 (12.108.27)

ऋषयश्च हि देवाश्च प्रीयन्ते पितृभिः सह । पूज्यमानेषु गुरुषु तस्मात्पूज्यतमो गुरुः ॥

ṛṣayaśca hi devāśca prīyante pitṛbhiḥ saha | pūjyamāneṣu guruṣu tasmātpūjyatamo guruḥ

For when gurus are honoured, the sages and the gods are pleased, together with the ancestors; therefore the guru is the one most to be worshipped.

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.109.23e; line 2 = the CE star line 12.109.23f*0249_01 (pūjyamāneṣu guruṣu tasmāt pūjyatamo guruḥ). The alignment found no match.

Verse 28 (12.108.28)

केनचिन्न च वृत्तेन ह्यवज्ञेयो गुरुर्भवेत् । न च माता न च पिता तादृशो यादृशो गुरुः ॥

kenacinna ca vṛttena hyavajñeyo gururbhavet | na ca mātā na ca pitā tādṛśo yādṛśo guruḥ

A teacher is never to be despised for any conduct of his; neither mother nor father is what a teacher is.

Note on the text: Corrected न च पितो तादृशो → न च पिता तादृशो (misprint in Wikisource; पितो for पिता; the critical edition reads pitā).

Verse 29 (12.108.29)

न तेऽवमानमर्हन्ति न तेषां दूषयेत्कृतम् । गुरूणामेव सत्कारं विदुर्देवाः सहर्षिभिः ॥

na te'vamānamarhanti na teṣāṃ dūṣayetkṛtam | gurūṇāmeva satkāraṃ vidurdevāḥ saharṣibhiḥ

They do not deserve contempt, and what they have done is not to be disparaged. The gods, together with the sages, know that honour is due to gurus above all.

Verse 30 (12.108.30)

उपाध्यायं पितरं मातरं च । ये विद्रुह्यन्ते मनसा कर्मणा वा । तेषां पापं भ्रूणहत्याविशिष्टं । तस्मान्नान्यः पापकृदस्ति लोके ॥

upādhyāyaṃ pitaraṃ mātaraṃ ca | ye vidruhyante manasā karmaṇā vā | teṣāṃ pāpaṃ bhrūṇahatyāviśiṣṭaṃ | tasmānnānyaḥ pāpakṛdasti loke

Those who bear malice toward their teacher, father or mother, in thought or in deed: theirs is a sin worse than killing an embryo, and no one else in the world does greater wrong than they.

Verse 31 (12.108.31)

भृतो भर्तारं यो न बिभर्ति पुत्रः । स्वयोनिजः पितरं मातरं च । तस्य पापं भ्रूणहत्याविशिष्टं । तस्मान्नान्यः पापकृदस्ति लोके ॥

bhṛto bhartāraṃ yo na bibharti putraḥ | svayonijaḥ pitaraṃ mātaraṃ ca | tasya pāpaṃ bhrūṇahatyāviśiṣṭaṃ | tasmānnānyaḥ pāpakṛdasti loke

A son, born of their own body, who having been nourished does not nourish his nourishers, his father and mother: his is a sin worse than killing an embryo, and no one else in the world does greater wrong than he.

Note on the text: Corrected विभिर्ति → बिभर्ति (misprint in Wikisource; भि for भ; the critical edition (star passage) reads bibharti). Corrected भ्रूणहत्याविषिष्टं → भ्रूणहत्याविशिष्टं (misprint in Wikisource; ष for श; the critical edition reads bhrūṇahatyāviśiṣṭaṃ). Not in the critical edition's constituted text: the four lines are the CE star passage 12.109.26d*0250_01-04 (bhṛto vṛddho yo na bibharti putraḥ / svayonijaḥ pitaraṃ mātaraṃ ca / tad vai pāpaṃ bhrūṇahatyāviśiṣṭaṃ / tasmān nānyaḥ pāpakṛd asti loke); Wikisource भृतो भर्तारं and तस्य पापं are kept as variants. The alignment found no match.

Verse 32 (12.108.32)

मित्रद्रुहः कृतघ्नस्य स्त्रीघ्नस्य पिशुनस्य च । चतुर्णामपि चैतेषां निष्कृतिं नानुशुश्रुम् ॥

mitradruhaḥ kṛtaghnasya strīghnasya piśunasya ca | caturṇāmapi caiteṣāṃ niṣkṛtiṃ nānuśuśrum

For these four, the betrayer of a friend, the ungrateful man, the killer of a woman and the slanderer, we have heard of no atonement.

Verse 33 (12.108.33)

एतत्सर्वं मनुनिर्देशदृष्टं । यत्कर्तव्यं पुरुषेणेह किंचित् । एतच्छ्रेयो नान्यदस्माद्विशिष्टं । सर्वान्धर्माननुसृत्यैतदुक्तम् ॥

etatsarvaṃ manunirdeśadṛṣṭaṃ | yatkartavyaṃ puruṣeṇeha kiṃcit | etacchreyo nānyadasmādviśiṣṭaṃ | sarvāndharmānanusṛtyaitaduktam

All this, whatever a man ought to do here, is seen in the instruction of Manu. This is the highest good; nothing surpasses it. It has been said after surveying all the dharmas.