Shloka 103
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
अश्वमेधसहस्रं च सत्यं च तुलया धृतम् । अश्वमेधसहस्राद्धि सत्यमेव विशिष्यते,एक हजार अश्वमेध यज्ञ एक ओर तथा सत्यभाषणका पुण्य दूसरी ओर यदि तराजूपर रखा जाय, तो हजार अश्वमेध यज्ञोंकी अपेक्षा सत्यका पलड़ा ही भारी होता है
aśvamedhasahasraṃ ca satyaṃ ca tulayā dhṛtam | aśvamedhasahasrāddhi satyam eva viśiṣyate ||
Duṣyanta sprach: „Legte man tausend Aśvamedha-Opfer auf die eine Waagschale und die Wahrheit auf die andere, so würde die Wahrheit allein schwerer wiegen als tausend Aśvamedhas.“
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthfulness (satya) is presented as a supreme dharmic virtue whose merit surpasses even the immense religious merit of performing a thousand Aśvamedha sacrifices; moral integrity is valued above grand ritual achievement.
Duṣyanta delivers a moral valuation: he frames a comparison as if on a weighing scale, contrasting the celebrated royal rite of Aśvamedha with the virtue of truth, and declares that truth outweighs the ritual even in vast quantity.