Shloka 28
Go-dāna-phala-nirdeśa
Merit and Destinations from the Gift of Cows
धारणं सर्ववेदानां सर्वतीर्थावगाहनम् | सत्यं च ब्रुवतो नित्यं सम॑ वा स्यान्न वा समम्
dhāraṇaṁ sarvavedānāṁ sarvatīrthāvagāhanam | satyaṁ ca bruvato nityaṁ samaṁ vā syān na vā samam ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: “Haber dominado y retenido todos los Vedas, y haberse bañado en todos los vados sagrados: que el mérito de tales actos pueda igualar de veras el mérito de quien dice la verdad constantemente es, en sí mismo, dudoso. La implicación es clara: la veracidad firme supera incluso esas celebradas hazañas religiosas.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Constant truthfulness (satya) is presented as a higher and more reliable source of merit than even vast scriptural learning (retaining all the Vedas) or extensive pilgrimage (bathing at all tīrthas).
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma is teaching ethical priorities: he contrasts prestigious religious acts with the inner moral discipline of always speaking truth, concluding that truth is superior.