Shloka 44
भृगु–भरद्वाजसंवादः: वर्णभेदस्य कर्माधारितव्याख्या
Bhrigu–Bharadvaja Dialogue: A Karma-Based Account of Varṇa
ये केचन स्वध्ययना: प्राप्ता यजनयाजनम् | कथं ते चानुशोचेयुर्थ्यायेयुवाप्पशो भनम् । इच्छन्तस्ते विहाराय सुखं महदवाप्लुयु:
ye kecana svādhyayanāḥ prāptā yajanayājanam | kathaṃ te cānuśoceyur dhyāyeyur vāpaśobhanam | icchantas te vihārāya sukhaṃ mahad avāpnuyuḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“那些专志于吠陀学习的婆罗门，既自修祭祀，又为他人主持祭祀——他们何以会陷入忧惧与哀叹？又怎会生起自毁其身这等卑劣之念？若他们愿意，安住于祭祀与圣职所带来的清净‘游憩’之中，便能获得广大之乐。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that disciplined sacred life—Vedic study (svādhyāya) and sacrificial duty (yajana/yājana)—stabilizes the mind and removes grounds for despair; one who is properly engaged in dharma should not sink into anxiety or entertain ignoble thoughts like self-harm, but can attain great happiness through righteous practice.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira by praising the sustaining power of Brahminical disciplines. He argues that those absorbed in svādhyāya and yajña have a purposeful, uplifting way of life, making lamentation and self-destructive thinking inappropriate and unnecessary.