Shloka 45
जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः
Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry
न भवति विद्ुषां महद्धयं यदविदुषां सुमहद्धयं भवेत् । न हि गतिरधिकास्ति कस्यचित् सकृदुपदर्शयतीह तुल्यताम्
na bhavati viduṣāṁ mahad bhayaṁ yad aviduṣāṁ su-mahad bhayaṁ bhavet | na hi gatir adhikāsti kasyacit sakṛd upadarśayatīha tulyatām ||
毗湿摩说：对无知者而言成为巨大恐怖之物，于智者却不生为压倒性的惧怕。因为在智者之中，无人得更高或更低的归趣；众皆同一归程。此处引《吠陀》中以“sakṛd … brahmalokaḥ”开头的语句，旨在表明知者最终境界之平等。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly fear is rooted in ignorance; wisdom removes that dread. Moreover, among true knowers there is no hierarchy of final attainment—scripture is invoked to affirm the essential equality of their spiritual destiny.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma continues his instruction on dharma and liberation-oriented wisdom, contrasting the ignorant person’s fear of saṁsāra with the wise person’s steadiness, and supporting the point by appealing to a Śruti statement about the knower’s destination (Brahmaloka) and its sameness.