Shloka 63
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
तपांसि यानि चीर्णानि चरिष्यन्ति च यत् तप: । शतै: शतसहसैश्व तै: सत्यान्न विशिष्यते
tapāṁsi yāni cīrṇāni cariṣyanti ca yat tapaḥ | śataiḥ śata-sahasraiś ca taiḥ satyān na viśiṣyate ||
婆羅門は言った。人々が過去に修してきたあらゆる苦行、そして未来に修するであろうあらゆる苦行——それらをすべて集め、百倍、いや十万倍に増し合わせたとしても、その価値はなお真実の偉大さを超えない。道の秩序において、真実は最高の尺度として立ち、莫大な苦行の努力すら凌駕する。
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truth (satya) is presented as the supreme ethical value: even vast accumulations of austerity (tapas), multiplied many times over, do not exceed the merit and authority of truthfulness.
In a didactic discourse within the Śānti Parva, a Brahmin speaker emphasizes a hierarchy of virtues, arguing that ascetic achievements—past and future—remain secondary to the power and primacy of truth.