Shloka 63
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
तपांसि यानि चीर्णानि चरिष्यन्ति च यत् तप: । शतै: शतसहसैश्व तै: सत्यान्न विशिष्यते
tapāṁsi yāni cīrṇāni cariṣyanti ca yat tapaḥ | śataiḥ śata-sahasraiś ca taiḥ satyān na viśiṣyate ||
The Brahmin said: Whatever austerities people have practiced in the past, and whatever austerities they will practice in the future—if all of them were gathered together and multiplied a hundredfold or even a hundred-thousandfold, their worth would still not surpass the greatness of truth. In the moral order, truth stands as the highest measure, outweighing even immense ascetic effort.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truth (satya) is presented as the supreme ethical value: even vast accumulations of austerity (tapas), multiplied many times over, do not exceed the merit and authority of truthfulness.
In a didactic discourse within the Śānti Parva, a Brahmin speaker emphasizes a hierarchy of virtues, arguing that ascetic achievements—past and future—remain secondary to the power and primacy of truth.