Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 76
Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
सच्चासच्चैव कौन्तेय मया55वेशितमात्मनि । पौष्करे ब्रह्मसदने सत्यं मामृषयो विदु:
sac cāsac caiva kaunteya mayāveśitam ātmani | pauṣkare brahma-sadane satyaṁ mām ṛṣayo viduḥ ||
ਕੌਂਤੇਯ! ਸਤ ਅਤੇ ਅਸਤ—ਦੋਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਮੈਂ ਆਪਣੇ ਅੰਦਰ ਸਮਾਵੇਸ਼ ਕਰ ਰੱਖਿਆ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਲਈ ਨਾਭਿ-ਕਮਲ ਤੋਂ ਉਤਪੰਨ ਬ੍ਰਹਮਲੋਕ ਦੇ ਪੁਸ਼ਕਰ-ਸਮ ਬ੍ਰਹਮਸਦਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਵੱਸਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਰਿਸ਼ੀ ਮੈਨੂੰ ‘ਸਤ੍ਯ’ ਨਾਮ ਨਾਲ ਜਾਣਦੇ ਹਨ।
तामिन्द्र उवाच गच्छ नहुषस्त्वया वाच्योथ<पूर्वेण मामृषियुक्तेन यानेन त्वमधिरूढ
Educational Q&A
Truthfulness is presented as an ethical identity: when one’s inner being and speech are aligned with सत्य (truth), the wise recognize that person as “Truth” itself. The verse frames सत्य not merely as a rule but as a realized state of character.
A speaker addresses “Kaunteya” and declares a self-description: having absorbed both sat and asat within, the sages in Brahmā’s lotus-like abode call him “Satya.” It functions as a moral testimony establishing authority and the primacy of truthful speech and being.