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 ||
毗湿摩说道：“无人会害怕第二个头被砍下，也无人会害怕第三只手被斩断——因为那样的东西并不存在。恐惧不从虚妄而生；它只在确有其据之处才会生起。”
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.