Shloka 75
Sabhā Parva, Adhyāya 68 — Pāṇḍavānāṃ Vanavāsa-prasthānaḥ; Duḥśāsana-nindā; Pāṇḍava-pratijñāḥ
साक्षी वा विन्लुवन् साक्ष्यं गोकर्णशिथिल श्चरन् । सहस्र॑ वारुणान् पाशानात्मनि प्रतिमुज्चति,जो गवाह गाय-बैलके ढीले-ढाले कानोंकी तरह शिथिल हो दोनों पक्षोंसे सम्बन्ध बनाये रखकर गवाही नहीं देता, वह भी अपनेको वरुणदेवताके सहस्रों पाशोंसे बाँध लेता है
sākṣī vā vinluvan sākṣyaṃ gokarṇaśithilaś caran | sahasraṃ vāruṇān pāśān ātmani pratimuñcati ||
Kaśyapa dijo: «También el testigo que, vacilante e inconstante como una vaca de orejas flojas, retiene o tergiversa su testimonio por querer conservar vínculos con ambas partes y no decir la verdad, se ata a sí mismo con mil lazos de Varuṇa».
कश्यप उवाच
Educational Q&A
A witness must speak truthful testimony without fear or favoritism; suppressing or twisting evidence to maintain relations with both parties is a grave ethical failure that brings severe moral consequence, symbolized by Varuṇa’s nooses.
Kāśyapa is instructing about the dharma of witnesses: he condemns the unreliable witness who evades truth and warns that such conduct binds the person to punitive bonds associated with Varuṇa, the upholder of moral order.