Shloka 35

Devanagari script

भवेत्‌ सत्यमवक्तव्यं न वक्तव्यमनुछितम्‌ । सत्यानृते विनिश्चित्य ततो भवति धर्मवित्‌,केवल अनुष्ठानमें लाया गया असत्यरूप सत्य बोलनेयोग्य नहीं होता, अतः वैसा सत्य न बोले। पहले सत्य और असत्यका अच्छी तरह निर्णय करके जो परिणाममें सत्य हो उसका पालन करे। जो ऐसा करता है, वही धर्मका ज्ञाता है

Transliteration

bhavet satyam avaktavyaṃ na vaktavyam anucitam | satyānṛte viniścitya tato bhavati dharmavit ||

Translation

シュリー・クリシュナは言った。「事実としては真であっても、語るべきでないことがある。また不適切なことは口にしてはならぬ。まず真と偽をよく見極め、そのうえで、結果において真を支える道を選び従うべきである。かく分別して行う者こそ、ダルマを知る者である。」

Word by Word

भवेत्may be / could be

सत्यम्truth; a true statement

अवक्तव्यम्not to be spoken

नnot

वक्तव्यम्to be spoken; should be said

अनुचितम्improper; inappropriate

सत्यानृतेin (the matter of) truth and untruth

विनिश्चित्यhaving ascertained/decided

ततःthereafter; then

भवतिbecomes; is

धर्मवित्knower of dharma

Speaker

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Kṛṣṇa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Truthfulness is not merely stating facts; speech must be guided by dharma. A statement may be factually true yet harmful or improper to utter. One should judge truth and untruth with discernment and choose the course whose result upholds righteousness—this practical wisdom marks a dharma-knower.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Karṇa Parva context of battlefield counsel, Śrī Kṛṣṇa instructs about ethical speech under crisis: do not speak even ‘truth’ if it is unfit or leads to unrighteous outcomes; instead, decide carefully what truly serves dharma in result.