Shloka 56
तस्य पूर्व रथ: पृथ्व्याश्चतुरड्गुलमुच्छित: । बभूवैव॑ं च तेनोक्ते तस्य वाहा: स्पृशन्महीम्,इसके पहले युधिष्ठिरका रथ पृथ्वीसे चार अंगुल ऊँचे रहा करता था, किंतु उस दिन उनके इस प्रकार असत्य बोलते ही उनके रथके घोड़े धरतीका स्पर्श करके चलने लगे
tasya pūrvaṁ rathaḥ pṛthivyāś catur-aṅgulam ucchritaḥ | babhūvaivaṁ ca tenokte tasya vāhāḥ spṛśan mahīm ||
Sañjaya said: Formerly, his chariot used to remain raised four finger-breadths above the earth. But on that day, the moment he spoke in this manner—departing from strict truth—his horses began to move while touching the ground. The narrative marks a visible loss of moral radiance: even a slight compromise with truth causes an immediate diminishment of the extraordinary merit that had upheld him.
संजय उवाच