Shloka 66
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
सत्यं वेदास्तथाड्रानि सत्यं विद्यास्तथा विधि: | व्रतचर्या तथा सत्यमोड्कार: सत्यमेव च,सत्य ही वेद और वेदांग है। सत्य ही विद्या तथा विधि है। सत्य ही व्रतचर्या तथा सत्य ही ओंकार है
satyaṃ vedās tathā drāṇi satyaṃ vidyās tathā vidhiḥ | vratacaryā tathā satyam oṃkāraḥ satyam eva ca ||
The Brāhmaṇa said: “Truth is the Vedas, and likewise the sacred ordinances; truth is learning and also right procedure. Truth is the disciplined practice of vows; truth indeed is the syllable Oṃ as well. In this teaching, all authoritative knowledge and all religious practice are gathered into a single ethical foundation: unwavering truthfulness.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
All sacred authority—Veda, learning, ritual injunction, vow-observance, and even the sanctity of Oṃ—is rooted in satya. The verse elevates truthfulness from a single virtue to the very ground of dharma and spiritual life.
Within the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, a Brāhmaṇa speaker delivers an ethical instruction. Rather than narrating an event, the verse functions as a doctrinal assertion: it identifies truth as the essence behind scripture, ritual method, disciplined conduct, and sacred sound.