Mahabharata · 1.188.15–16
॥
Devanāgarī
गुरोश् च वचनं प्राहुर् धर्मं धर्मज्ञसत्तम ॥
गुरूणां चैव सर्वेषां जनित्री परमो गुरुः ॥
सा चाप्य् उक्तवती वाचं भैक्षवद् भुज्यताम् इति ॥
तस्माद् एतद् अहं मन्ये धर्मं द्विजवरोत्तम ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
guroś ca vacanaṃ prāhur dharmaṃ dharmajñasattama ||
gurūṇāṃ caiva sarveṣāṃ janitrī paramo guruḥ ||
sā cāpy uktavatī vācaṃ bhaikṣavad bhujyatām iti ||
tasmād etad ahaṃ manye dharmaṃ dvijavarottama ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
गुरोः च वचनं प्राहुः धर्मं धर्मज्ञसत्तमguroḥ ca vacanaṃ prāhuḥ dharmaṃ dharmajñasattama'and the word of a teacher is called dharma, O best of those who know dharma;
गुरूणां च एव सर्वेषां जनित्री परमः गुरुःgurūṇāṃ ca eva sarveṣāṃ janitrī paramaḥ guruḥand of all teachers, the one who gave birth is the supreme teacher;
सा च अपि उक्तवती वाचं भैक्षवत् भुज्यताम् इतिsā ca api uktavatī vācaṃ bhaikṣavat bhujyatām itiand she indeed spoke the words: "Partake of this as of alms";
तस्मात् एतत् अहं मन्ये धर्मं द्विजवरोत्तमtasmāt etat ahaṃ manye dharmaṃ dvijavarottamatherefore I hold this to be dharma, O best of the twice-born';
गुरोश्gurośoriginal form "guroś", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
प्राहुर्prāhuroriginal form "prāhur", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
चैवcaivaoriginal form "caiva", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
परमोparamooriginal form "paramo", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
चाप्य्cāpyoriginal form "cāpy", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
भैक्षवद्bhaikṣavadoriginal form "bhaikṣavad", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
तस्माद्tasmādoriginal form "tasmād", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
एतद्etadoriginal form "etad", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
Translation
'And the word of a teacher is called dharma, O best of the knowers of dharma; and of all teachers, the one who gave birth is the supreme teacher; and she indeed spoke the words: "Partake of this as of alms." Therefore I hold this to be dharma, O best of the twice-born.'
Version
dd1bb6e2bb76 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:44:41 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here the sanctity of the mother's word is exalted. It is telling that the teaching holds the mother to be the supreme teacher, and her word to be dharma. Yudhishthira does not act on his own will but obeys: he honors what Kunti said unwittingly as a command, for to the righteous a mother's word is inviolable. Here it is shown that obedience to guru and parent is the root of dharma, and that fidelity to their word outweighs one's own convenience. Thus scripture shows the greatness of a mother's bidding, and upon it Yudhishthira grounds his decision.