Shloka 31
Skanda-janma: Śivā/Svāhā, Agni, and the Manifestation of Guha
Mahābhārata 3.214
सत्यस्य वचन श्रेय: सत्यं ज्ञानं हितं भवेत् यद् भूतहितमत्यन्तं तद् वै सत्यं परं मतम्,सत्य बोलना सदा कल्याणकारी है। यथार्थ ज्ञान ही हितकारक होता है। जिससे प्राणियोंका अत्यन्त हित होता हो उसे ही उत्तम सत्य माना गया है
satyasya vacanaṁ śreyaḥ; satyaṁ jñānaṁ hitaṁ bhavet | yad bhūtahitam atyantaṁ tad vai satyaṁ paraṁ matam ||
The hunter said: “Speaking truth is a source of the highest good. Truth is that knowledge which becomes beneficial. Whatever brings the greatest welfare to living beings—this alone is regarded as the supreme truth.”
व्याध उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truth is not merely factual accuracy; it is truthfulness aligned with right knowledge and the highest welfare of living beings. Speech becomes ‘supreme truth’ when it is both true and profoundly beneficial (bhūtahita).
In the Vyādha’s instruction (a moral discourse within Vana Parva), the hunter explains to his listener the ethical standard for speech: truth should be spoken in a way that promotes genuine good and the well-being of creatures, presenting a dharmic criterion for when and how to speak.