Shloka 9
भृगु–भरद्वाजसंवादः: वर्णभेदस्य कर्माधारितव्याख्या
Bhrigu–Bharadvaja Dialogue: A Karma-Based Account of Varṇa
मनुष्यों ब्राह्मणश्चासि श्रोत्रियश्वासि काश्यप । सुदुर्लभमवाप्यैतन्न दोषान्मर्तुमहसि,“काश्यप! आप तो मनुष्य हैं, ब्राह्मण हैं और श्रोत्रिय भी हैं। ऐसा परम दुर्लभ शरीर पाकर आपको उसमें दोषदृष्टि करके स्वयं ही मरनेके लिये उद्यत होना उचित नहीं है
manuṣyo brāhmaṇaś cāsi śrotriyaś cāsi kāśyapa | sudurlabham avāpyaitad na doṣān martum arhasi ||
Bhishma said: “O Kāśyapa, you are a human being, a brāhmaṇa, and also a learned Vedic scholar. Having obtained this exceedingly rare human embodiment, it is not right for you to fix your gaze on its faults and resolve to die by your own hand.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human birth—especially with the capacities of learning and dharma—is rare and precious; therefore one should not succumb to despair or self-destructive impulses by focusing only on perceived defects, but should preserve life and use it for righteous living.
Bhīṣma addresses a brāhmaṇa named Kāśyapa, reminding him of his status as a human, a brāhmaṇa, and a śrotriya, and admonishes him that it is improper to seek death (implying self-willed death) merely from seeing faults in his embodied condition.