Shloka 71
Sarasvatī–Tārkṣya Saṃvāda: Agnihotra-vidhi, Dāna-phala, and Mokṣa-prasaṅga (सरस्वती–तार्क्ष्यसंवादः)
मोघेष्टा मोघसंकल्पा मोघज्ञाना विचेतस: । सर्वाभिशड्किनश्वैव संवृत्ता: क्लेशदायिन:,उनकी कामनाएँ, उनके संकल्प और उनके ज्ञान सभी निष्फल थे। उनकी स्मरण-शक्ति क्षीण हो गयी थी। वे सभी परस्पर संदेह करते हुए एक-दूसरेके लिये क्लेशदायक बन गये
mogheṣṭā moghasaṅkalpā moghajñānā vicetasaḥ | sarvābhiśaṅkinaś caiva saṃvṛttāḥ kleśadāyinaḥ ||
Markandeya said: Their striving became futile, their resolves came to nothing, and even their knowledge proved barren. Their minds grew unsteady and their power of recollection waned. Suspicious of one another in every way, they turned into sources of distress for each other—showing how inner confusion and mistrust corrode both judgment and community.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
When intentions, plans, and even learning are not grounded in clarity and right conduct, they become 'mogha' (fruitless). From such inner disorder arises mutual suspicion, which then turns people into causes of one another’s suffering—an ethical warning against mistrust, mental instability, and aimless striving.
Markandeya describes a group’s deteriorating condition: their efforts and plans fail, their understanding becomes ineffective, their minds lose steadiness and memory, and they begin to suspect each other. This breakdown of trust makes them mutually harmful and increases collective distress.