Shloka 44
भृगु–भरद्वाजसंवादः: वर्णभेदस्य कर्माधारितव्याख्या
Bhrigu–Bharadvaja Dialogue: A Karma-Based Account of Varṇa
ये केचन स्वध्ययना: प्राप्ता यजनयाजनम् | कथं ते चानुशोचेयुर्थ्यायेयुवाप्पशो भनम् । इच्छन्तस्ते विहाराय सुखं महदवाप्लुयु:
ye kecana svādhyayanāḥ prāptā yajanayājanam | kathaṃ te cānuśoceyur dhyāyeyur vāpaśobhanam | icchantas te vihārāya sukhaṃ mahad avāpnuyuḥ ||
Bhishma dijo: «Esos brahmanes entregados al estudio védico, que realizan sacrificios y también ofician para otros, ¿por qué habrían de caer en la ansiedad o el lamento? ¿Por qué habrían siquiera de albergar pensamientos viles como el de destruirse a sí mismos? Si así lo desean, viviendo en el saludable “esparcimiento” de los sacrificios y de los deberes sagrados, pueden alcanzar una gran felicidad.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that disciplined sacred life—Vedic study (svādhyāya) and sacrificial duty (yajana/yājana)—stabilizes the mind and removes grounds for despair; one who is properly engaged in dharma should not sink into anxiety or entertain ignoble thoughts like self-harm, but can attain great happiness through righteous practice.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira by praising the sustaining power of Brahminical disciplines. He argues that those absorbed in svādhyāya and yajña have a purposeful, uplifting way of life, making lamentation and self-destructive thinking inappropriate and unnecessary.