Shloka 31
अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः
Measures of Time from the Unmanifest; Creation, Elements, and the Primacy of Mind
आचक्षेडहं मनुष्येभ्यो देवेभ्य: प्रतिसंचरन् । सत्यं स्वर्गस्थ सोपानं पारावारस्य नौरिव
ācakṣed ahaṃ manuṣyebhyo devebhyaḥ pratisaṃcaran | satyaṃ svargastha-sopānaṃ pārāvārasya naur iva ||
The Haṃsa said: “Moving about among men and even among the gods, I have proclaimed this: just as a ship is the means to cross the ocean, so truthfulness is the ladder by which one ascends to heaven.”
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthfulness (satya) is presented as the sure means of spiritual ascent: it functions like a ladder to heaven, just as a ship is the practical means to cross a vast ocean.
The Haṃsa, speaking as a moral instructor, describes how he has wandered among humans and gods proclaiming a universal ethical principle—truth is the reliable vehicle for crossing the difficult expanse of worldly existence and attaining heavenly realms.