Shloka 35
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
भवेत् सत्यमवक्तव्यं न वक्तव्यमनुछितम् । सत्यानृते विनिश्चित्य ततो भवति धर्मवित्
bhavet satyam avaktavyaṃ na vaktavyam anucitam | satyānṛte viniścitya tato bhavati dharmavit ||
श्रीकृष्ण म्हणाले—कधी कधी सत्यही असे असते की ते बोलू नये; आणि जे अनुचित आहे ते उच्चारू नये. प्रथम सत्य-असत्य यांचा नीट निर्णय करून, नंतर जे आचरण परिणामतः सत्याचे रक्षण करते तेच स्वीकारावे. असा विवेक ठेवणारा तोच धर्मज्ञ होय.
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthfulness is not merely stating facts; speech must be guided by dharma. A statement may be factually true yet harmful or improper to utter. One should judge truth and untruth with discernment and choose the course whose result upholds righteousness—this practical wisdom marks a dharma-knower.
In the Karṇa Parva context of battlefield counsel, Śrī Kṛṣṇa instructs about ethical speech under crisis: do not speak even ‘truth’ if it is unfit or leads to unrighteous outcomes; instead, decide carefully what truly serves dharma in result.