Shloka 9
भृगु–भरद्वाजसंवादः: वर्णभेदस्य कर्माधारितव्याख्या
Bhrigu–Bharadvaja Dialogue: A Karma-Based Account of Varṇa
मनुष्यों ब्राह्मणश्चासि श्रोत्रियश्वासि काश्यप । सुदुर्लभमवाप्यैतन्न दोषान्मर्तुमहसि
manuṣyo brāhmaṇaś cāsi śrotriyaś cāsi kāśyapa | sudurlabham avāpyaitad na doṣān martum arhasi ||
பீஷ்மர் கூறினார்— “காஷ்யபரே! நீ மனிதன்; பிராமணன்; வேதம் அறிந்த ஶ்ரோத்ரியனும் ஆவாய். இத்தகைய அரிதான உடலைப் பெற்றபின், அதன் குறைகளையே நோக்கி தன்னையே கொல்லத் துணிவது முறையல்ல.”
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.