चिरकारि-उपाख्यानम् / The Exemplum of Cirakārī: Deliberation Before Irreversible Action
अपि पापकृतो रौद्रा: सत्यं कृत्वा पृथक् पृथक् । अद्रोहमविसंवादं प्रवर्तन्ते तदाश्रया:
api pāpakṛto raudrāḥ satyaṃ kṛtvā pṛthak pṛthak | adroham avisaṃvādaṃ pravartante tadāśrayāḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「たとえ罪深く荒々しい者であっても、真実を導きの規範として立てるなら——それぞれが己の領分において——不害(アヒンサー)と、欺きなき誠実(不誑)に従って生きるようになる。その支えとなるのは、まさにその誓いそのものである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Truthfulness (satya) is presented as a foundational discipline: when one genuinely adopts truth as a guiding principle, it naturally supports other virtues such as non-hostility (adroha) and freedom from deceit or breach of trust (avisaṃvāda), even in people inclined to wrongdoing or harshness.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma is teaching about ethical conduct and inner reform. Here he emphasizes that commitment to truth can restrain violent or sinful tendencies and stabilize behavior in society through reliability and non-injury.