Shloka 47
स भवांस्त्रातु नो द्रोणात् सत्याज्ज्यायो$नूतं वच: । अनृतं जीवितस्यार्थे वदन्न स्पृश्यतेडनृतैः,“अतः तुम द्रोणसे हमलोगोंको बचाओ; इस अवसरपर असत्यभाषणका महत्त्व सत्यसे भी बढ़कर है। किसीकी प्राणरक्षाके लिये यदि कदाचित् असत्य बोलना पड़े तो उस बोलनेवालेको झूठका पाप नहीं लगता”
sa bhavāṁstrātu no droṇāt satyāj jyāyo’nṛtaṁ vacaḥ | anṛtaṁ jīvitas yārthe vadann na spṛśyate’nṛtaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Therefore, please save us from Droṇa. At this moment, a word that is untrue is weightier than truth itself. If, for the sake of preserving life, one must at times speak an untruth, the speaker is not tainted by the sin of falsehood.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse articulates an ethical exception: when the preservation of life is at stake, speaking an untruth may be considered morally non-tainting, suggesting that dharma can prioritize protection of life over strict literal truth in extreme circumstances.
In the midst of the Drona Parva’s battlefield crisis, Sañjaya conveys a plea to adopt a strategy to escape or neutralize Droṇa’s deadly threat, arguing that a necessary untruth—if aimed at saving lives—does not incur the usual sin of falsehood.