Shloka 96
यज्ञेऽहिंसा-प्राधान्यम्
Primacy of Non-Harm in Sacrificial Ethics
मानान्मोहाच्च लोभाच्च लौल्यमेतत्प्रकल्पितम् । उन धूत्तोंने अभिमान, मोह और लोभके वशीभूत होकर उन वस्तुओंके प्रति अपनी यह लोलुपता ही प्रकट की है
mānān mohāc ca lobhāc ca laulyaṃ etat prakalpitam |
Bhishma said: “This craving is fashioned from pride, delusion, and greed. Therefore attachment to objects is not an innocent liking, but a construction of the mind born of inner faults—one should discern these causes and uproot them, rather than merely pursue or condemn the objects themselves.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Craving (laulya) is not inherent in objects; it is mentally constructed from pride (māna), delusion (moha), and greed (lobha). Ethical reform therefore targets these inner causes—humbling pride, clarifying understanding, and restraining greed—to dissolve attachment.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Bhishma explains the roots of human attachment and moral downfall, diagnosing how certain vices generate restless longing and thereby lead one away from right conduct.