Shloka 20
Adhyaya 8 — Harishchandra’s Trial: Truth, the Sale of Family, and Bondage to a Chandala
सत्यमत्यन्तमुदितं धर्मशास्त्रेषु धीमताम् ।
तारणायानृतं तद्वत् पातनायाकृतात्मनाम् ॥
satyam atyantam uditaṃ dharmaśāstreṣu dhīmatām |
tāraṇāyānṛtaṃ tadvat pātanāyākṛtātmanām ||
ダルマ・シャーストラにおいて、賢者たちは真実を至上の利益として讃えた。同様に、虚偽は心の定まらぬ者を危難から救うとも語られるが、自己を律せぬ者（徳が未成の者）には堕落をもたらす。
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "karuna", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
Truth is affirmed as the highest norm in dharma literature. Yet the verse acknowledges a nuanced ethical space: untruth may be described as ‘saving’ in certain exigent contexts (e.g., preventing immediate harm), while habitual or self-serving falsehood—especially by those lacking inner discipline—becomes a cause of moral downfall. The implied standard is not relativism but discernment (viveka) governed by dharma and self-control.
This verse aligns with ancillary dharma/nīti instruction rather than the core pañcalakṣaṇa categories (sarga, pratisarga, vaṃśa, manvantara, vaṃśānucarita). It functions as ethical guidance embedded within the Purāṇic narrative frame.
On an inner level, ‘satya’ symbolizes alignment of speech and mind with reality (ṛta), which stabilizes consciousness. ‘Anṛta’ symbolizes misalignment that can momentarily protect the ego from threat (‘tāraṇa’) but ultimately degrades the inner order, leading to ‘pātana’ (a fall in integrity and spiritual capacity), especially for the akṛtātman—one not refined by tapas, restraint, and self-examination.