Shloka 45
जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः
Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry
न भवति विद्ुषां महद्धयं यदविदुषां सुमहद्धयं भवेत् । न हि गतिरधिकास्ति कस्यचित् सकृदुपदर्शयतीह तुल्यताम्
na bhavati viduṣāṁ mahad bhayaṁ yad aviduṣāṁ su-mahad bhayaṁ bhavet | na hi gatir adhikāsti kasyacit sakṛd upadarśayatīha tulyatām ||
Bhishma said: That which becomes a great terror for the ignorant does not arise as any overwhelming fear for the wise. For among the wise no one attains a higher or lower destiny; all share an equal course. The Vedic statement beginning with “sakṛd … brahmalokaḥ” is cited here to indicate this equality of the knower’s final state.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly fear is rooted in ignorance; wisdom removes that dread. Moreover, among true knowers there is no hierarchy of final attainment—scripture is invoked to affirm the essential equality of their spiritual destiny.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma continues his instruction on dharma and liberation-oriented wisdom, contrasting the ignorant person’s fear of saṁsāra with the wise person’s steadiness, and supporting the point by appealing to a Śruti statement about the knower’s destination (Brahmaloka) and its sameness.