Shloka 30

Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation

Devanagari script

न नर्मयुक्तमनृतं हिनस्ति न स्त्रीषु राजन्‌ न विवाहकाले | न गुर्वर्थ नात्मनो जीवितार्थे पज्चानृतान्याहुरपातकानि

Transliteration

na narmayuktam anṛtaṁ hinasti na strīṣu rājan na vivāhakāle | na gurvarthe nātmano jīvitārthe pañcānṛtāny āhur apātakāni rājan ||

Translation

ビーシュマは言った。「王よ、戯れに口にする虚言は害をなさぬ。女に向けて語るときも、婚礼の時も同じである。また師（グル）の利益のため、あるいは己が命を救うために語る虚言も、咎められるべきものとは見なされない。王よ、この五つの場合には、虚言を語っても罪に数えられぬと宣言されている。」

Word by Word

• {'narma-yuktam': 'connected with jest, playful banter', 'anṛtam': 'untruth, false statement', 'hinasti': 'harms, injures', 'strīṣu': 'among/with women

• in relation to women', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative address)', 'vivāha-kāle': 'at the time of marriage', 'guru-arthe (gurv-arthe)': 'for the sake/benefit of the teacher', 'ātmano': 'of oneself', 'jīvita-arthe (jīvitārthe)': 'for the sake of life

• to preserve one’s life', 'pañca': 'five', 'anṛtāni': 'untruths (plural instances of falsehood)', 'āhuḥ': 'they say

• it is declared', 'apātakāni': 'not sinful

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• rājan (the king, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Truthfulness is a central virtue, yet Bhishma notes limited, context-bound exceptions where speaking an untruth is not treated as sinful: in jest, in certain speech with women, during marriage arrangements, for a teacher’s welfare, and to save one’s life.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s dharma instruction, Bhishma is advising King Yudhiṣṭhira on ethical conduct, specifically the nuanced rules governing speech and when strict truth-telling may be relaxed without incurring sin.