The Dhammapada and I assume its later Commentary say:
About this, the Thai monk Buddhadasa said:Verse 294. The Destroyer Who Reaches Nibbana
One’s mother and father having slain
and then two warrior kings,
a realm as well its treasurer,
one goes immune, a Brahmin True.
Explanation: The brahmin kills the mother - craving, kills the father - egotism, self-cherishing: They represent the two views, Eternalism and Nihilism, opposed to Buddhist thought. The subordinates are clinging to life. And he destroys the defilements which cling to life. Having destroyed all these, the brahmin (arahat) goes without punishment.
Verse 295. The ‘Killer’ Who Goes Free
One’s mother and father having slain
and then two learned kings,
as well the fifth, a tiger fierce,
one goes immune, a Brahmin True.
Explanation: The brahmin (arahat) kills the mother - craving; kills the father - egotism; kills the two learned kings. They represent the two false views eternalism and nihilism. He kills the five tigers (sensuality, hate, mental inertia, worry and skeptical doubt) that obstruct the path. And, having done all these killings, the arahat goes about unaffected.
Are there any suttas that support the above Commentary and Buddhadasa interpretations?FATHER & MOTHER
Now we come to the words "father" and "mothers." In ordinary worldly language, these words refer to the two people responsible for our having been born. But in the deeper language of Dhamma, our "father" is ignorance (avijja) and our "mother" is craving (tanha). They must be killed and gotten rid of completely. For instance, the Buddha said:
"Matram pitram hantva akatannusi brahmana."
"Be ungrateful. Kill the "father," kill the "mother", and you will attain nibbana."
Our father, the one responsible for our birth, is ignorance or not-knowing (avijja); our mother, the other one responsible for our birth, is craving (tanha). The words "father" and "mother" in Dhamma language were given these higher meanings by the Buddha. So the "parents" - avijja and tanha - have to be killed, destroyed completely, for nibbana to be realized.
https://www.dhammatalks.net/Books2/Bhik ... _Truth.htm
Thanks