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 ||
भीष्म बोले—“अरे! तू मोहवश यह क्या कर रहा है? तू तो कुल का भूषण ब्राह्मण है, मध्यदेश में प्रसिद्ध भी। फिर तू डाकू की दशा को कैसे प्राप्त हो गया?”
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).