Shloka 22
Gautama’s Flight, the Enchanted Grove, and the Arrival of Rājadharma
Nāḍījaṅgha
एते त्रयोदशाकारा: पृथक् सत्यैकलक्षणा: । भजन्ते सत्यमेवेह बृंहयन्ते च भारत
ete trayodaśākārāḥ pṛthak satyaikalakṣaṇāḥ | bhajante satyam eveha bṛṃhayante ca bhārata ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ces treize formes (du dharma), bien que décrites séparément, portent toutes un seul signe distinctif : la Vérité. En ce monde, elles ne prennent refuge qu’en la Vérité, et, ô Bharata, elles fortifient et affermissent la Vérité elle-même.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That the many enumerated duties and virtues (dharma in its various forms) ultimately converge on one defining criterion: satya (truth). True dharma relies on truth and, in practice, reinforces and enlarges truth in the world.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira after the war, Bhīṣma continues his ethical teaching, explaining that the different categories of dharma previously listed are not competing paths but distinct expressions of a single foundation—Truth.