hari-bhakti-mahādevyāḥ sarvā mukty-ādi-siddhayaḥ |
bhuktyaś cādbhutās tasyāś ceṭikāvad anuvratāḥ ||
(Nārada Pañcarātra; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.34)
“All the siddhis headed by mukti and all astonishing [worldly] enjoyments are maidservant-like [i.e., shy and cautious] followers of the great devī [known as] Hari-bhakti.”
upādhyāyān daśācārya ācāryāṇāṁ śataṁ pitā |
sahasraṁ tu pitṝn mātā gauraveṇātiricyate ||
(Manu Smṛti: 2.145)
“A teacher of conduct surpasses ten teachers of recitation. A father surpasses one hundred teachers of conduct, and a mother surpasses even one thousand fathers in respectability.”
nāsti vedāt paraṁ śāstraṁ nāsti mātuḥ paro guruḥ |
nāsti dānāt paraṁ mitram iha loke paratra ca ||
(Unknown Source)
“There is no greater śāstra than the Veda, no greater guru than one’s mother, and no greater giving than friendship here in this world and the next.”
gurūṇāṁ caiva sarveṣāṁ mātā paramako guruḥ |
(Mahābhārata: Ādi-parva, 211.16)
[Yudhiṣṭhira to Kuntī:] “And of all gurus, the mother is certainly the foremost guru.”
nāsti vedāt paraṁ śāstraṁ nāsti mātuḥ samo guruḥ ||
(Atri Smṛti: 5.148)
“There is no śāstra greater than the Veda, and no guru like one’s mother.”
nāsti mātṛ-samā chāyā nāsti mātṛ-samā gatiḥ |
nāsti mātṛ-samaṁ trāṇaṁ nāsti mātṛ-samā priyā ||
(Unknown Source)
“There is no shade like one’s mother. There is no refuge like one’s mother. There is no protection like one’s mother, and there is no one as dear as one’s mother.”
nāsti mātṛ-samā chāyā nāsti mātṛ-samā gatiḥ |
nāsti mātṛ-samaṁ trāṇaṁ nāsti mātṛ-samā prapā ||
(Skanda Purāṇa)
“There is no shade like one’s mother. There is no refuge like one’s mother. There is no protection like one’s mother. And there is no water station [for travelers on long journey] like one’s mother.”
tad etat kṣantavyaṁ janani sakaloddhāriṇe śive |
kuputro jāyate kvacid api kumātā na bhavati ||
(Unknown source)
“All of this is pardonable by you, O Mother, auspicious uplifter of all. There can be bad sons, but there can never be bad mothers.”
mātṛ-devīṁ namas tubhyaṁ mama janma-dātriṁ tvaṁ namo namaḥ |
bālya-kāle māṁ pālana kṛtvā mātṛkābhyo tvaṁ namābhyāham ||
(Unknown source)
“Obeisances unto you, my godly mother. Obeisance and obeisance unto you, the giver of my birth. Obeisances unto you, revered mother, who nourished me in childhood.”
mātā dharitrī jananī dayārdra-hṛdayā śivā |
devī tribhuvana-śreṣṭhā nirdoṣā sarva-duḥkhahā ||
ārādhanīyā paramā dayā śāntiḥ kṣamā dhṛtiḥ |
(Bṛhad Dharma Purāṇa: 8–9)
[Names for a mother:] “Mother, she who gives support, she who gives birth, she whose heart is melted with grace, she who is auspicious, she who is a goddess, she who is the greatest in the three worlds, she who is faultless, she who removes all distress, she who is worshippable, she who is supreme, she who is gracious, she who is peaceful, she who is forgiving, she who is poised, …”
