Mahabharata 3.2.69 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 2, Shloka 69
ब्राह्मणानुयात्रा—शौनकोपदेशः
Brāhmaṇas Follow into Exile and Śaunaka’s Instruction
ततः संकल्पबीजेन कामेन विषयेषुभि: । विद्धः पतति लोभाग्नौ ज्योतिर्लोभात् पतड़वत्
tataḥ saṅkalpa-bījena kāmena viṣayeṣubhiḥ | viddhaḥ patati lobhāgnau jyotir-lobhāt pataṅgavat ||
അതിനുശേഷം, സങ്കൽപ്പമെന്ന വിത്തിൽ നിന്നുയർന്ന കാമം കൊണ്ടും വിഷയങ്ങളെന്ന അമ്പുകളാൽ കുത്തേറ്റും മനുഷ്യൻ ലോഭത്തിന്റെ അഗ്നിയിൽ വീഴുന്നു—പ്രകാശലോഭത്തിൽ പാറ്റ തീയിൽ പതിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ.
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
A small inner resolve (saṅkalpa) can become the seed of desire (kāma). When desire chases sense-objects, it wounds discernment and leads one into greed (lobha), which consumes like fire. The moth-and-flame image teaches that attraction to a seemingly bright object can end in ruin if not governed by restraint.
Śaunaka is describing a moral chain-reaction: intention gives rise to desire; desire, through engagement with sense-objects, ‘pierces’ a person; and the person then plunges into the destructive blaze of greed—illustrated by the moth that rushes toward light and perishes in fire.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.