Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 109, Shloka 12
सत्यधर्मप्रतिपादनम्
Rama’s Defense of Truth and Dharma in Reply to Jabali
उद्विजन्ते यथा सर्पान्नरादनृतवादिनः।धर्म स्सत्यं परो लोके मूलं स्वर्गस्य चोच्यते।।2.109.12।।
udvijante yathā sarpān narād anṛtavādinaḥ | dharmaḥ satyaṃ paro loke mūlaṃ svargasya cocyate ||
মানুষ যেমন সাপ দেখলে ভয়ে সরে যায়, তেমনি মিথ্যাবাদী ব্যক্তিকেও এড়িয়ে চলে। এই জগতে সত্যই পরম ধর্ম, আর সত্যকেই স্বর্গের মূল বলা হয়েছে॥
People are frightened at the sight of a man speaking untruth as though they have seen a serpent. Truth in this world is the greatest virtue and is said to be the very foundation of heaven.
FAQs
Falsehood is socially and morally poisonous; truth is proclaimed the highest dharma and the foundational cause for attaining svarga.
Rāma warns against normalizing untruth by showing its natural social consequence—loss of trust and fear.
Trustworthiness: the capacity to be relied upon in speech and promise.