Shloka 28
Go-dāna-phala-nirdeśa
Merit and Destinations from the Gift of Cows
धारणं सर्ववेदानां सर्वतीर्थावगाहनम् | सत्यं च ब्रुवतो नित्यं सम॑ वा स्यान्न वा समम्
dhāraṇaṁ sarvavedānāṁ sarvatīrthāvagāhanam | satyaṁ ca bruvato nityaṁ samaṁ vā syān na vā samam ||
ビーシュマは言った。「すべてのヴェーダを究めて保持し、あらゆる聖なる渡し場で沐浴したとしても——それらの功徳が、常に真実を語る者の功徳に真に等しいかどうか、それ自体が疑わしい。意は明らかである。揺るがぬ真実語は、かの名高い宗教的達成すら凌ぐのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Constant truthfulness (satya) is presented as a higher and more reliable source of merit than even vast scriptural learning (retaining all the Vedas) or extensive pilgrimage (bathing at all tīrthas).
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma is teaching ethical priorities: he contrasts prestigious religious acts with the inner moral discipline of always speaking truth, concluding that truth is superior.