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 ||
ധർമ്മശാസ്ത്രങ്ങളിൽ ജ്ഞാനികൾ സത്യത്തെ പരമഹിതകരമെന്ന് പ്രശംസിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. അതുപോലെ അസത്യം—അസ്ഥിരനെ അപകടത്തിൽ നിന്ന് രക്ഷിക്കുമെങ്കിലും, അവിനീതാത്മാക്കളുടെ (അസംയതരുടെ) പതനകാരണമെന്നു പറയപ്പെടുന്നു।
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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.