Shloka 29
भृगु–भरद्वाजसंवादः: वर्णभेदस्य कर्माधारितव्याख्या
Bhrigu–Bharadvaja Dialogue: A Karma-Based Account of Varṇa
न द्वितीयस्य शिरसश्छेदनं विद्यते क्वचित् । न च पाणेस्तृतीयस्य यन्नास्ति न ततो भयम्
na dvitīyasya śirasaś chedanaṁ vidyate kvacit | na ca pāṇes tṛtīyasya yan nāsti na tato bhayam ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Walang sinuman ang natatakot na maputol ang ikalawang ulo, ni ang ikatlong kamay—sapagkat hindi naman umiiral ang mga iyon. Ang takot ay hindi nagmumula sa di-totoo; lumilitaw lamang ito kapag may tunay na pinagbabatayan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Fear should be grounded in reality: what does not exist cannot be a true cause of fear. The verse discourages anxiety born of imagination and urges clear discernment of what is real.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right understanding. Here he uses a simple analogy—no one fears losing a second head or third hand—to show that fear depends on an actual, existent object.