Shloka 72
Adhyaya 3 — The Dharmapakshis’ Past-Life Curse and Indra’s Test of Truthfulness
लोभाद्भवति संमोहः संमोहात् स्मृतिविभ्रमः ।
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात् प्रणश्यति ॥
lobhādbhavati saṃmohaḥ saṃmohāt smṛtivibhramaḥ / smṛtibhraṃśād buddhināśo buddhināśāt praṇaśyati
Từ tham lam sinh ra si mê; từ si mê phát sinh sự rối loạn của ký ức. Từ mất ký ức dẫn đến sự suy sụp của năng lực phân biệt, và từ sự suy sụp của năng lực phân biệt thì con người bị hủy diệt.
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FAQs
The verse maps a causal chain of inner collapse: greed (lobha) clouds perception (saṃmoha), which destabilizes moral-spiritual memory (smṛti)—the capacity to recall teachings, vows, and consequences. When smṛti fails, discernment (buddhi) cannot judge properly; action becomes reckless, leading to ruin (praṇaśyati). The practical counsel is to curb greed early, because later stages are progressively harder to reverse.
This verse is primarily didactic/ācāra-dharma material rather than a direct instance of the five Purāṇic markers. It aligns most closely with the Purāṇic function of teaching dharma and right conduct (often treated under ācāra/śīla instruction), rather than sarga (creation), pratisarga, vaṃśa (genealogies), manvantara, or vaṃśānucarita.
Esoterically, the sequence describes the inward dimming of the ‘lamp’ of consciousness: lobha pulls awareness outward into acquisition; saṃmoha is the obscuration (āvaraṇa) that follows; smṛti-bhraṃśa indicates loss of inner continuity (forgetting one’s higher aim); buddhi-nāśa is the collapse of viveka (discriminative wisdom). ‘Destruction’ (praṇaśyati) can be read as spiritual fall—loss of dharmic trajectory—rather than only physical harm.