Shloka 48
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ८१: कृष्णस्य दूतप्रयाणम्
Udyoga Parva, Chapter 81: Krishna Sets Out as Envoy
चलेद्धि हिमवाञ्छैलो मेदिनी शतधा फलेत् । द्यौ: पतेच्च सनक्षत्रा न मे मोघं वचो भवेत्,“हिमालय पर्वत अपनी जगहसे टल जाय, पृथ्वीके सैकड़ों टुकड़े हो जायेँ तथा नक्षत्रोंसहित आकाश टूट पड़े, परंतु मेरी यह बात झूठी नहीं हो सकती
caled dhi himavāñ śailo medinī śatadhā phalet | dyauḥ patec ca sanakṣatrā na me moghaṃ vaco bhavet ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Even if the Himālaya were to shift from its place, even if the earth were to split into a hundred fragments, and even if the sky, together with its stars, were to fall—still my statement cannot prove false.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores unwavering commitment to truth: a righteous speaker’s word is presented as more certain than even the stability of cosmic and natural order. It elevates satya (truthfulness) as a dharmic anchor—speech should be so reliable that it is imagined as unbreakable even if the universe itself collapses.
Vaiśampāyana, as the narrator, uses a hyperbolic cosmic comparison—Himālaya moving, earth splitting, sky falling with stars—to stress the absolute certainty and non-falsity of the statement being affirmed in the surrounding episode of Udyoga Parva, where grave vows, assurances, and consequential decisions are being framed.