Shloka 69
ब्राह्मणानुयात्रा—शौनकोपदेशः
Brāhmaṇas Follow into Exile and Śaunaka’s Instruction
ततः संकल्पबीजेन कामेन विषयेषुभि: । विद्धः पतति लोभाग्नौ ज्योतिर्लोभात् पतड़वत्,तदनन्तर संकल्प ही जिसका बीज है, उस कामके द्वारा विषयरूपी बाणोंसे बिंधकर मनुष्य ज्योतिके लोभसे पतंगकी भाँति लोभकी आगमें गिर पड़ता है
tataḥ saṅkalpa-bījena kāmena viṣayeṣubhiḥ | viddhaḥ patati lobhāgnau jyotir-lobhāt pataṅgavat ||
Rồi sau đó, bị những mũi tên của các đối tượng giác quan đâm trúng, bị dục vọng—mà hạt giống chỉ là saṅkalpa, một sự toan tính trong tâm—thúc đẩy, con người rơi vào ngọn lửa tham lam, như con thiêu thân vì ham ánh sáng mà lao vào lửa.
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.