Shloka 3
Satya–Anṛta Viveka (Discrimination between Truth and Falsehood) | सत्य–अनृत विवेकः
किंस्वित् सत्यं किमनृतं किंस्विद् धर्म्य सनातनम् । कस्मिन् काले वदेत् सत्यं कस्मिन् कालेडनृतं वदेत्
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kiṃsvit satyaṃ kim anṛtaṃ kiṃsvid dharmyaṃ sanātanam | kasmin kāle vadet satyaṃ kasmin kāle 'nṛtaṃ vadet |
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “O que é, de fato, a verdade, e o que é a falsidade? E que tipo de conduta está de acordo com o dharma eterno? Em que momento se deve dizer a verdade, e em que momento se deve dizer o que não é verdadeiro?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a central dharma-question: truthfulness is a high virtue, yet ethical life requires discernment about context—what counts as ‘truth’ and when speech (even if factually untrue) might be weighed against higher duties such as preventing harm and upholding dharma.
In Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira—seeking guidance after the war—asks an elder authority to clarify the nature of truth, falsehood, and eternal dharma, and to explain the circumstances in which one should speak truth or, exceptionally, speak untruth.