Mata Shatruh Pita Bairi — Complete Lyrics
माता शत्रुः पिता वैरी
Sanskrit text with English transliteration and translation
माता शत्रुः पिता वैरी येन बालो न पाठितः।
न शोभते सभामध्ये हंसमध्ये बको यथा॥
mātā śatruḥ pitā vairī yena bālo na pāṭhitaḥ।
na śobhate sabhā-madhye haṁsa-madhye bako yathā॥
The mother is an enemy and the father a foe by whom a child is not educated; for such an unlettered person does not shine in an assembly of the learned, just as a heron does not shine in the midst of swans. The verse stresses that giving a child education is the highest duty of parents.
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