Instructions on Dharma by Bhīṣma

 Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca

mahānayaṁ dharmapatho bahuśākhaśca bhārata

kiṁsvideveha dharmāṇāmanuṣṭheyatamaṁ matam

Yudhiṣṭhira said:

The path of Dharma is long. It has also, O Bhārata, many branches. What are those duties which you hold to be the best to practice.

kiṁ kāryaṁ sarvadharmāṇāṁ garīyo bhavato matam

yathāhaṁ paramaṁ dharmamiha ca pretya cāpnuyām

What are the most important duties in your view by the practice of which I may acquire the highest merit both in this world and in the next.

bhīṣma uvāca

mātāpitrorgurūṇāṁ ca pūjā bahumatā mama

iha yukto naro lokān yaśaśca mahadaśnute

Bhīṣma said:

The adoration of mother, father and guru is, I consider, the most important. The man, who satisfies that duty here, succeeds in winning gret fame and many blessed regions.

yacca te ̍bhyanujānīyuḥ karma tāta supūjitāḥ

dharmādharmaviruddhaṁ vā tat kartavyaṁ yudhiṣṭhira

Adored by you, whether they will command you, be it consistent with righteousness, or be it inconsistent with it, you should carry it put unhesitatingly, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

na ca tairabhyanujñāto dharmamanyaṁ samācaret

yaṁ ca te ̍bhyanujānīyuḥ sa dharma iti niścayaḥ

One should never do what they forbid. Forsooth, there command should always be done.

eta eva trayo lokā eta evāśramāstrayaḥ

eta eva trayo vedā eta eva trayo ̍gnayaḥ

They are 3 worlds. They are 3 modes of life. They are 3 Vedas. They are 3 sacred fires.

pitā vai gārhapatyo ̍gnirdakṣiṇaḥ smṛtaḥ

gururāhavanīyastu sāgnitretā garīyasī

triṣvapramādyanneteṣu trīṁllokāṁśca vijeṣyasi

Father is said to be Gārhapatya fire, mother is Dakṣiṇa fire and Guru is fire on which libations are poured. These 3 fires are the greatest. If you adore carefully these 3 fires, you will conquer 3 worlds. 

pitṛvṛttyā tvimaṁ lokaṁ mātṛvttyā tathā param

brahmalokaṁ gurorvṛttyā niyamena tariṣyasi

By serving father regularly one may cross this world. By serving mother in the same way, one may enjoy blessed regions in the next life. By serving Guru regularly, one may acquire the region of Brahmā.

samyageteṣu vartasva triṣu lokeṣu bhārata

yaśaḥ prāpsyasi bhadraṁ te dharmaṁ ca sumahatphalam

Properly treat these 3, O Bhārata, and you will acquire great fama in the 3 worlds and you will be blessed, great will be your merit and reward.

naitānatiśayejjātu nātyaśnīyānna dūṣayet

nityaṁ paricareccaiva tad vai sukṛtamuttamam

Never transgreess them in your deeds. Never eat before they eat, nor eat anything that is better than what they eat. Never attribute any fault to them. One should always serve them humbly. That is an act of great merit.

kīrtiṁ puṇyaṁ yaśo lokān prāpsyase rājasattama

sarve tasyādṛtā lokā yasyaite traya ādṛtāḥ

By acting thus, O best of kings, you may acquire fame, merit, honour, blessed regions in the next life. He who honours these 3 is honoured in all the worlds.

anādṛtāstu yasyaite sarvāstasyāphalāḥ triyāḥ

na cāsyaṁ na paro lokastasya caiva paraṁtapa

He, however, who disregards these 3, cannot acquire any merit from any of acts. Such a man, O scorcher of foes, neither obtains this world nor the next.

amānitā nityameva yasyaite guravastrayaḥ

na cāsminnapare loke yaśastasya prakāśate

na cānyadapi kalyāṇaṁ paratra samudāhṛtam

He, who always disregards these 3 elders, never enjois fame either in this world or in the next. Such a man never reaps any good in the next life.

tebhya eva hi yat sarvaṁ kṛtvā ca visṛjāmyaham

tadāsīnme śataguṇaṁ sahasraguṇameva ca

tasmānme samprakāśante trayo lokā yudhiṣṭhira

All that I have dedicated  to the honour of those 3 has multiplied a hundred fold or a thousand fold. On account of that merit even now, O Yudhiṣṭhira, 3 worlds are clearly visible to me.

daśaiva tu sadā ācāryaḥ śrotriyānatiricyate

daśācāryānupādhyāya upādhyāyān pitā daśa

Ācārya is superior to 10 Brāhmaṇas learned in the Vedas. One Upadhyāya is superior to 10 Ācāryas. Father is superior to 10 Upadhyāyas.

pitṛn daśa tu mātaikā sarvā vā pṛthivīmapi

gurutvenābhibhavati nāsti mātṛsamo guruḥ

Mother is superior to 10 fathers, or, perhaps, wo whole world. There is none so much worthy of reverence as mother.

gururgarīyān pitṛto mātṛtaśceti me matiḥ

ubhau hi mātāpitarau janmanyevopayujyataḥ

In my view, however, Guru deserves greater respect than father or even mother. Father and mother are creators of one ̍s being.

śarīrameva sṛjataḥ pitā mātā ca bhārata

ācāryaśiṣṭā yā jātiḥ sā divyā sājarāmarā

Father and mother, O Bhārata, only create body. Life, on the other hand, which one acquires from his Guru, is divine. That life suffers no decays and is immortal.

avadhyā hi sadā mātā pitā cāpyapakāriṇau

na saṁduṣyati tat kṛtvā na ca te dūṣayanti tam

dharmāya yatamānānāṁ vidurdevā maharṣibhiḥ

Father and mother, even if they offend you, should never be killed. by not punishing father and mother one does not commit sin. Indeed, such reverend persons, by escaping punishment do not stain the king. Gods and Ṛṣis do not withold their favours from such persons who try to maintain their sinful fathers reverently.

yaścāvṛṇotyavitathena karmaṇā

ṛtaṁ bruvannanṛtaṁ samprayacchan

taṁ vai manyeta pitaraṁ mātaraṁ ca

tasmai na druhyet kṛtamasya jānan

He, who favours a person by giving him true instruction, by communicating Vedas and by giving immortal knowledge, should be honoured as parents. Disciple, out of gratitude for what instructor has done, should never do what would injure the latter.

vidyāṁ śrutvā ye guruṁ nādriyante

pratyāsannā manasā karmaṇā vā

teṣāṁ pāpaṁ bhrūṇahatyāviśiṣṭaṁ

nānyastebhyaḥ pāpakṛdasti loke

yathaiva te gurubhirbhāvanīryā

stathā teṣāṁ guravo ̍bhyarcanīyāḥ

Those who do not honour their Gurus after receiving instructions from them by obeying them dutifully in thoughts and deeds commit sin of killing a foetus. There is no greater sinner in this world than this. Gurus always treat their disciples with great affection. The latter should, therefore, reverse their Gurus duly.

tasmāt pūjayativyāśca saṁvibhajyāśca yatnataḥ

guravo ̍rcayitavyāśca purāṇaṁ dharmamicchatā

He, therefore, who wishes to acquire that high merit which has existed from days of yore, should adore his Gurus and carefully share with them every object of enjoyment.

tasmāt pūjayativyāśca saṁvibhajyāśca yatnataḥ

guravo ̍rcayitavyāśca purāṇaṁ dharmamicchatā

He, therefore, who wishes to acquire that high merit which has existed from days of yore, should adore his Gurus and carefully share with them every object of enjoyment.

yena prīṇātyupādhyāyaṁ tena syād brahma pūjitam

mātṛtaḥ pitṛtaścaiva tasmāt pūjyatamo guruḥ

He who pleases his Guru, pleases Brahmā. Therefore Guru deserves greater respect than either father or mother.

Ṛṣayaśca hi devāśca prīyante pitṛbhiḥ saha

pūjyamāneṣu guruṣu tasmāt pūjyatamo guruḥ

If Gurus are adored, then Ṛṣis, Devas, Pitṛs, all are pleased. Therefore, Guru deserves highest respect.

kenacinna ca vṛttena hyavavajñeyo gururbhavet

na ca mātā na ca pitā manyate yādṛśo guruḥ

Guru should never in any way be dishonoured by disciple. Neither mother nor father deserves the honour which Guru does. 

na te ̍vamānamarhanti na teṣāṁ dūṣayet kṛtam

gurūṇāmeva satkāraṁ vidurdevā maharṣibhiḥ

No insult should be offered to the father, mother or Guru. No act of theirs should be censured. Good and great Ṛṣis are pleased with him who treats his Gurus reverentially. 

upādhyāyaṁ pitaraṁ mātaraṁ ca

ye ̍bhidruhyante manasā karmaṇā vā

teṣāṁ pāpaṁ bhrūṇahatyāviśiṣṭaṁ

tasmānnānyaḥ pāpakṛdasti loke

Those, who injure in thoughts and deeds their Gurus, fathers, mothers, commit the sin of killing the foetus. There is no sinner in the world equal to them.

bhṛto vṛddho yo na bibharti putraḥ

svayonijaḥ pitaraṁ mātaraṁ ca 

tad vai pāpaṁ bhrūṇahatyāviśiṣṭaṁ

tasmānnānya pāpakṛdasti loke

That son, who, being born of parents and brought up by them, when they becomes old, does not maintain them on his turn, commits the sin of killing a foetus. there is no sinner like him in the world.

mitradruhaḥ kṛtaghnasya strīghnasya gurughātinaḥ

caturṇāṁ vayameteṣāṁ niṣkṛtiṁ nānuṣuśruma

We have never heard that these 4, viz., he who kills a woman, he who kills Guru, ever succeed in purifying themselves.

etatsarvamanirdeśenaivamuktaṁ

yatkartavyaṁ puruṣeṇeha loke

etacchreyo nānyadasmādviśiṣṭaṁ

sarvān dharmānanusṛtyaitaduktam

I have described to you in general all that one should do in this world. Besides those duties that I have described, there is nothing which yields greater happiness. Thinking of all duties, I have described to you their essence.