Bhagavad Gita 11.29
यथा प्रदीप्तं ज्वलनं पतङ्गा विशन्ति नाशाय समृद्धवेगाः। तथैव नाशाय विशन्ति लोका स्तवापि वक्त्राणि समृद्धवेगाः॥
yathā pradīptaṁ jvalanaṁ pataṅgā viśhanti nāśhāya samṛiddha-vegāḥ tathaiva nāśhāya viśhanti lokās tavāpi vaktrāṇi samṛiddha-vegāḥ
Translation
As moths with quickened speed will headlong fly Into a flaming light, to fall destroyed, So also these, in haste precipitate, Enter within Thy mouths destroyed to fall.
What it means
As moths fly faster and faster into a burning flame to perish, so do these creatures rush into Your mouths to their destruction. The second simile adds self-propulsion: beings hurry toward their own end. Mortality is a built-in momentum.
Try this today
The moth image: acceleration toward what destroys - the most haunting simile of the chapter.
Something to reflect on
Where am I mistaking momentum for direction?
Read it in Yathora