Shloka 60
मनु-उपदेशः — भूत-उत्पत्ति, इन्द्रिय-निवृत्ति, तथा पर-स्वभाव-विवेकः
Manu’s Instruction on Elemental Origination, Sense-Withdrawal, and Discrimination of the Supreme Nature
न भवति विदुषां ततो भयं यदविदुषां सुमहद् भयं भवेत् | न हि गतिरधिकास्ति कस्यचित् सति हि गुणे प्रवदन्त्यतुल्यताम्
na bhavati viduṣāṁ tato bhayaṁ yad aviduṣāṁ sumahad bhayaṁ bhavet | na hi gatir adhikāsti kasyacit sati hi guṇe pravadanty atulyatām ||
Dijo Bhishma: Ese mismo ámbito de la existencia mundana que para los ignorantes se vuelve una gran causa de temor no inspira temor en los sabios. Pues nadie tiene un curso final más alto o más bajo que otro: mientras las cualidades (guṇa) se adhieren, se habla de destinos desiguales conforme a ellas; pero para el conocedor, cuyo vínculo con los guṇa ha cesado, tales gradaciones no se aplican.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ignorance makes saṁsāra terrifying, while true knowledge removes fear. Ultimate liberation is not graded as higher or lower for different persons; perceived differences in 'destiny' belong to the realm where the guṇas still operate. When one is free from attachment to the guṇas through knowledge, such inequality no longer applies.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on liberation-oriented dharma. Here he contrasts the ignorant person’s fear of worldly existence with the wise person’s fearlessness, and explains that talk of superior/inferior outcomes pertains only to those still conditioned by the guṇas.