Shloka 28
Karma-Phala Rahasya and the Ethics of Dāna (कर्मफल-रहस्यं दानधर्मश्च)
भीष्म उवाच यन्मन्त्रे भवति वृथोपयुज्यमाने यत् सोमे भवति वृथाभिषूयमाणे । यच्चाग्नौ भवति वृथाभिटृ्यमाने तत् सर्व भवति वृथाभिधीयमाने
bhīṣma uvāca | yan-mantre bhavati vṛthopayujyamāne yat some bhavati vṛthābhiṣūyamāne | yac cāgnau bhavati vṛthābhihūyamāne tat sarvaṁ bhavati vṛthābhidhīyamāne ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Yudhiṣṭhira, le péché qui naît du mauvais usage des mantras védiques, la faute qui naît lorsque le sacrifice du Soma est rendu vain par une exécution défectueuse et par l’oubli des dons requis, et le péché qui naît lorsqu’on jette des oblations au feu sans rite ni mantra — tout ce mal-là s’attache pareillement à celui qui profère le mensonge.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
False speech is presented as a grave ethical transgression: the text equates the sin of lying with major ritual faults—misusing Vedic mantras, ruining the Soma-sacrifice, and offering oblations without proper rite—thereby elevating satya (truthfulness) as a central pillar of dharma.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he emphasizes the moral weight of speech by comparing the consequences of lying to well-known serious ritual errors, using sacrificial imagery to impress the king with the importance of truth.