Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 14
Brāhmaṇa-kṛtya, Āśrama-niyama, and Dāna-prasaṃsā
Duties of the Brāhmaṇa, āśrama discipline, and praise of giving
ऋषींश्व देवांश्व महासुरांश्न त्रैविद्यवृद्धांश्व वने मुनींश्व । कान्नापदो नोपनमन्ति लोके परावरज्ञास्तु न सम्भ्रमन्ति
ṛṣīṁś ca devāṁś ca mahāsurāṁś ca traividyavṛddhāṁś ca vane munīṁś ca | kān āpadā na upanamanti loke parāvarajñās tu na sambhramanti ||
ビーシュマは言った。「リシたち、神々、強大なアスラたち、三ヴェーダの知に秀でた学匠たち、そして森に住む苦行の聖者たち——この世で、彼らのうち誰に災厄が降りかからぬというのか。だが、高下を、真と偽を見分ける者は、逆境が来ても迷妄や混乱に陥らない。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
No class of beings—sages, gods, asuras, or learned ascetics—is immune to misfortune; what distinguishes the wise is not the absence of adversity but the presence of discriminative insight (parāvara-jñāna), by which they avoid delusion and remain steady.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma addresses the reality of worldly crises and redirects attention from asking ‘who is spared?’ to recognizing that true spiritual maturity is shown by those who, understanding what is higher/lower and true/false, do not become confused when troubles arise.