In plain words
You alone understood that if he falls he will die. So the duty of saving him is yours,” said Īśvara. Then she: “Lord! When anyone falls, they cry out either ‘Ammā!’ or ‘Appā!’. If he cries ‘Ammā!’, I will save him. If he says ‘Appā!’, you must save him,” she said. Īśvara agreed. In a little while the branch broke; the fellow fell. Mother was ready to save him. Father too stood prepared. But he did not say ‘Ammā!’, nor did he say ‘Appā!’; he said ‘Ayyō!’ Though Śiva and Pārvatī were both waiting to save him, those words did not come from his mouth. So we must always keep our mother and father in mind.
“Mātṛdevo bhava, pitṛdevo bhava, ācāryadevo bhava, atithidevo bhava.” You may be a man of great learning; you may be expert in every branch of learning in this world. But to your mother you are still her son! A mother's blessings are always with you: in your home, at your heels, at your side. The life of a son who forgets such a mother is wasted. The tender heart that saves is found in Pārvatī alone. Īśvara is the father; Pārvatī herself, the embodiment of Śakti, is the mother. Īśvara cannot go forward so freely. Only when Śakti steps forward does Īśvara come behind. So, first of all, we must worship the embodiment of Śakti. She herself is the mother. That is why, first of all, it was said, ‘Mātṛdevo bhava’. The first place has been given to the mother alone. We liken even our own country to a mother. People say, India is my motherland, but no one says fatherland.
Even when a mother dies, her soul stays ever upon her children. One day a mother came: ‘Swami! My daughter listens to what everyone says. But she gives weight to Your words above all. From the very start my child has had stubbornness in plenty. However much I tell her, she does not listen. If You tell her once, she listens. She will not go against the word You have spoken,’ she said.