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 ||
بھیشم نے کہا— “اے کاشیپ! تم انسان ہو، برہمن ہو اور شروتریہ (ویدوں کے عالم) بھی ہو۔ ایسا نہایت نایاب جسم پا کر اس کے عیوب ہی دیکھتے ہوئے اپنے ہاتھوں مرنے پر آمادہ ہونا درست نہیں۔”
भीष्म उवाच
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.