Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 14
Chatra–Upānah Dāna: Origin Narrative
Jamadagni–Reṇukā–Sūrya Saṃvāda
तमाहुरारता ऋषयो महर्षि न ते वयं पुष्करं चोरयाम: । मिथ्याभिषंगो भवता न कार्य: शपाम तीक्ष्णै: शपथैर्महर्षे
tam āhur āratā ṛṣayo maharṣi na te vayaṁ puṣkaraṁ corayāmaḥ | mithyābhiṣaṅgo bhavatā na kāryaḥ śapāma tīkṣṇaiḥ śapathair maharṣe ||
यह सुनकर महर्षि घबरा उठे और उस महर्षि से बोले—“महर्षे! हमने आपका कमल नहीं चुराया है। आप हम पर झूठा आरोप न लगाइए। अपनी शुद्धि के लिए हम कठोर-से-कठोर शपथ लेने को तैयार हैं।”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not impose a false charge or suspicion on others; ethical speech requires restraint and fairness. When one’s integrity is questioned, a truthful person seeks to clear it through appropriate means, here expressed as willingness to take even severe oaths.
A group of sages, frightened by an accusation that they stole a lotus, deny the theft and urge the great seer not to maintain a false imputation. They offer to swear strong oaths to prove their innocence.