Shloka 46
मृत्यु-काल-प्रबोधनम् (Instruction on Mortality, Time, and Truth) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 169
किमिदं कुरुषे मोहाद् विप्रस्त्वं हि कुलोद्वह: । मध्यदेशपरिज्ञातो दस्युभावं गत: कथम्,“अरे! तू मोहवश यह क्या कर रहा है? तू तो मध्यदेशका विख्यात एवं कुलीन ब्राह्मण था। यहाँ डाकू कैसे बन गया?
kim idaṃ kuruṣe mohād vipras tvaṃ hi kulodvahaḥ | madhyadeśaparijñāto dasyubhāvaṃ gataḥ katham ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Was tust du da, vom Wahn verblendet? Du bist ein Brahmane, ein Schmuck deines Geschlechts—im Madhyadeśa weithin bekannt. Wie konntest du in den Stand eines Räubers herabsinken?“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Delusion (moha) can drive a person away from dharma and social-ethical responsibility; even one renowned for learning and good birth can fall into wrongdoing, and such a fall is to be confronted through moral questioning and self-reflection.
Bhishma addresses a man identified as a respected brahmin from the Madhyadeśa and rebukes him for acting under delusion, asking how he has come to adopt the life and conduct of a dasyu (bandit).