Shloka 14
अहिंसयित्वा ब्रह्महत्याविधानम् / Brahmahatyā incurred without physical violence
मार्कण्डेय उवाच अश्वमेधसहस्रं च सत्यं च तुलया धृतम् । नाभिजानामि यद्यस्य सत्यस्यार्धमवाप्तरुयात्
Mārkaṇḍeya uvāca— aśvamedha-sahasraṃ ca satyaṃ ca tulayā dhṛtam | nābhijānāmi yad yasya satyasyārdham avāptum arhati ||
قال ماركاندييا: «لو وُضِعَتْ ألفُ ذبيحةٍ من أشفاميدها في كِفَّة الميزان، ووُضِعَ الصِّدقُ في الكِفَّة الأخرى، لما استطعتُ أن أقول إن تلك الذبائح تستحق أن تساوي حتى نصفَ الصدق. فهكذا هي قيمةُ الصدق—لا تُقاس.»
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthfulness (satya) is ethically and spiritually superior to even the greatest ritual achievements; external rites, however grand, cannot match the inner virtue of truth.
Mārkaṇḍeya offers a striking comparison—placing a thousand Aśvamedha sacrifices against Truth on a scale—to emphasize that satya outweighs ritual merit and stands as a central pillar of dharma.