Shloka 13
मोघं ते जीवितं राजन् परिक्लिष्टं च जीवसि । पापायैव हि सृष्टोडसि कर्मणे हि यवीयसे,“राजन! तेरा जीवन व्यर्थ और अत्यन्त क्लेशमय है। तू पापके लिये ही पैदा हुआ है। खोटे कर्मके लिये ही तेरा जन्म हुआ है
moghaṃ te jīvitaṃ rājan parikliṣṭaṃ ca jīvasi | pāpāyaiva hi sṛṣṭo'si karmaṇe hi yavīyase ||
Bhishma said: “O King, your life is futile, and you live in deep affliction. You have been brought forth only for sin; indeed, you are driven toward base deeds.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A life that turns toward pāpa (sinful conduct) becomes mogha—ethically empty and spiritually unproductive. Bhīṣma’s rebuke stresses that one must redirect intention and action (karma) toward dharma; otherwise even continued living is described as mere suffering without higher purpose.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhīṣma speaks as a moral authority, sharply censuring a king’s conduct. The verse functions as a direct ethical reprimand: the ruler’s present way of living is portrayed as afflicted and oriented toward wrongdoing, calling for reform in kingship and personal character.