Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 40
न नर्मयुक्तं वचनं हिनस्ति न स्त्रीषु जातिर्न विवाहकाले । प्राणात्यये सर्वधनापहारे पंचानृतान्याहुरपातकानि
na narmayuktaṃ vacanaṃ hinasti na strīṣu jātirna vivāhakāle | prāṇātyaye sarvadhanāpahāre paṃcānṛtānyāhurapātakāni
«Une parole dite en plaisantant ne nuit pas ; ni (le mensonge) envers les femmes, ni au moment du mariage. Quand la vie est en péril et quand toute richesse est ravie—ces cinq “non-vérités” sont dites sans faute.»
Dhenavaḥ (the cows), citing a dharma maxim on permissible untruths
Scene: A didactic tableau: an elder/teacher figure recites dharma-rules to an attentive group; behind, symbolic vignettes show the five contexts—jest, women’s privacy, marriage negotiations, life peril, and total loss of wealth—each framed as a moral exception.
FAQs
Truth is a core virtue, yet dharma recognizes compassionate exceptions in extreme circumstances to prevent greater harm.
No tīrtha is named here; the verse provides a dharma principle embedded within the Mahātmya narrative framework.
None; the verse is a normative ethical rule (dharma-nīti) rather than a ritual injunction.