Universal Karma & Duty Upanishadic Verse
Taittiriya Upanishad: treat your mother, father, teacher and guest as divine. A teacher’s farewell advice. Sanskrit text and meaning.
Sanskrit
मातृदेवो भव ।
पितृदेवो भव ।
आचार्यदेवो भव ।
अतिथिदेवो भव ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
mātṛdevo bhava |
pitṛdevo bhava |
ācāryadevo bhava |
atithidevo bhava ||
Meaning
Let your mother be a god to you. Let your father be a god to you. Let your teacher be a god to you. Let your guest be a god to you. In other words: honour them as you would honour the divine.
Source / Textual Reference
Taittiriya Upanishad, Shikshavalli, anuvaka 11
Text compared with Sanskrit Documents and Wisdomlib. Editions number the lines inside this anuvaka differently, so the page cites the anuvaka only.
Traditional Significance
These lines are part of the teacher’s farewell advice in the Taittiriya Upanishad, right after “Satyam vada, dharmam chara”. They name four people to whom a student owes respect: mother, father, teacher (ācārya) and guest (atithi).
The words are widely quoted when speaking of respect for parents, teachers and guests.
Traditional Practice
The lines are read and quoted. They are not a mantra with a fixed count of repetitions.
Related Content
- Satyam Vada Dharmam Chara, the first lines of the same advice
- Guru Purnima, the day to honour teachers
- Sahana Vavatu, the prayer of teacher and student