Shloka 29

प्रजाविसर्ग-तत्त्वनिर्णयः | Cosmogony of Elemental Emergence

Bharadvāja–Bhṛgu Dialogue

Devanagari script

तस्मात्‌ सत्यव्रताचार: सत्ययोगपरायण: । सत्यागम: सदा दान्तः सत्येनैवान्तकं॑ जयेत्‌

Transliteration

tasmāt satyavrata-ācāraḥ satya-yoga-parāyaṇaḥ | satyāgamaḥ sadā dāntaḥ satyenaivāntakaṁ jayet ||

Translation

Ainsi, Bhīṣma dit : «Qu’on vive donc selon le vœu et la conduite de la vérité, voué à la discipline de la vérité. Tenant pour vraies les enseignements des śāstras, qu’on demeure toujours maître de soi, l’esprit et les sens sous contrôle. Ainsi, par la vérité seule, l’homme peut vaincre Antaka — la Mort.»

Word by Word

• {'tasmāt': 'therefore

• for that reason', 'satya': 'truth

• truthfulness', 'vrata': 'vow

• sacred resolve', 'ācāra': 'conduct

• disciplined practice', 'satyavrata-ācāraḥ': 'one whose conduct is grounded in the vow of truth', 'yoga': 'discipline

• integration', 'satya-yoga-parāyaṇaḥ': 'one devoted to the yoga/discipline of truth', 'āgama': 'authoritative teaching

• tradition', 'satyāgamaḥ': 'one who accepts scripture/teaching as true

• one grounded in true authority', 'sadā': 'always', 'dāntaḥ': 'self-controlled

• restrained (of senses and mind)', 'satyena eva': 'by truth alone', 'antakam': 'Antaka, the Ender

• Death (personified)', 'jayet': 'should conquer

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Antaka (Death)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma teaches that steadfast truthfulness—lived as a vow, supported by disciplined practice and self-restraint, and grounded in trust in śāstric teaching—has the power to overcome even Death (Antaka), i.e., to transcend fear and the bondage that leads to mortality.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma continues his ethical discourse, emphasizing satya (truth) as a supreme dharmic practice and presenting it as a practical discipline involving restraint of mind and senses.