Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
सत्यं वदत मासत्यं सत्यं धर्म: सनातन: । हरिश्न्द्रश्नरति वै दिवि सत्येन चन्द्रवत्,सत्य बोलो, असत्य न बोलो, सत्य ही सनातन धर्म है। राजा हरिश्वन्द्र सत्यके प्रभावसे आकाशमें चन्द्रमाके समान विचरते हैं
bhīṣma uvāca | satyaṁ vadata māsatyaṁ satyaṁ dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ | hariścandraḥ śarati vai divi satyena candravat ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Sprich die Wahrheit; sprich nicht die Unwahrheit. Wahrheit ist das ewige Dharma. Durch die Macht der Wahrheit wandelt König Hariścandra wahrhaft am Himmel wie der Mond.“
भीष्म उवाच
Truthfulness is presented as the perennial foundation of dharma: one should speak truth and avoid falsehood, because truth sustains moral order and elevates the speaker.
Bhishma instructs his listener through a direct ethical command and reinforces it with an exemplar: King Harishchandra, famed for unwavering truth, is said to attain celestial glory—moving in the heavens like the moon—through the power of truth.