Shloka 633

कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira

Devanagari script

श्रेयस्तत्रानृतं वक्तुं तत्‌ सत्यमविचारितम्‌ | जो झूठी शपथ खानेपर भी लुटेरोंके साथ बन्धनमें पड़नेसे छुटकारा पा सके, उसके लिये वहाँ असत्य बोलना ही ठीक है। उसे बिना विचारे सत्य समझना चाहिये

Transliteration

śreyas tatrānṛtaṃ vaktuṃ tat satyam avicāritam |

Translation

Vāyu berkata: “Dalam keadaan itu, lebih baik berkata yang tidak benar; dan ketidakbenaran itu sendiri—tanpa perlu ditimbang lagi—hendaklah diterima sebagai ‘kebenaran’; kerana apabila sumpah palsu dapat membebaskan seseorang daripada terbelenggu dan binasa bersama para perompak, maka berkata dusta di situ itulah jalan yang tepat.”

Word by Word

• {'śreyas': 'the better course

• what is beneficial/right', 'tatra': 'there

• in that situation/context', 'anṛtam': 'untruth

• false statement', 'vaktum': 'to speak

• to say', 'tat': 'that (referring to the said act/statement)', 'satyam': 'truth

• that which is to be accepted as true/right', 'avicāritam': 'without deliberation

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyudeva (Wind-god)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches a principle of āpaddharma (ethics in crisis): when strict truth-telling would lead to grave harm—such as captivity or destruction at the hands of criminals—speaking an untruth can be the morally preferable act, and should be treated as ‘truth’ in the sense of being dharmically justified.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva is giving a moral ruling about speech and oaths: in a dangerous situation involving robbers and bondage, a person may use a false statement (even a false oath) as a means of escape, and this is presented as the right choice within that context.