Shloka 75
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
यथैषा नानृता वाणी मयाद्य समुदीरिता । तेन सत्येन मां देवा: पालयन्तु दहन्तु वा
yathaiṣā nānṛtā vāṇī mayādya samudīritā | tena satyena māṃ devāḥ pālayantu dahantu vā ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Si les paroles que j’ai dites aujourd’hui ne sont pas mensongères, alors, par la puissance de cette vérité, que les dieux me protègent ; mais si elles sont fausses, qu’ils me brûlent jusqu’à me réduire en cendres. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthful speech is treated as a potent moral force: if one speaks truth, it becomes a protection; if one lies, the same appeal to truth invites punishment. The verse highlights accountability in speech and the idea of divine witness to one’s words.
Bhīṣma makes a conditional invocation: he stakes his own safety on the truthfulness of what he has just declared, asking the gods to protect him if it is true, or to burn him if it is false—an emphatic way to certify sincerity and moral certainty.