Shloka 125
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
क्षीरोदो हुदधीनां च यन्त्राणां धनुरेव च । वज्र: प्रहरणानां च व्रतानां सत्यमेव च,समुद्रोंमें क्षीरसागर, यन्त्रों (अस्त्रों)-में धनुष, चलाये जानेवाले आयुधोंमें वज्र और व्रतोंमें सत्य भी आप ही हैं
kṣīrodo hradadhīnāṁ ca yantrāṇāṁ dhanur eva ca | vajraḥ praharaṇānāṁ ca vratānāṁ satyam eva ca ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Entre os oceanos, tu és o Oceano de Leite; entre os instrumentos e as armas, tu és o arco; entre os projéteis que golpeiam, tu és o vajra (raio); e entre os votos, tu és a própria verdade.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the Supreme is present as the highest excellence within every domain—nature, weaponry, and moral discipline—and that among vows the foremost is satya (truthfulness), making truth a central pillar of dharma.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma continues a hymn-like enumeration identifying the Divine through superlatives (the best within each class), reinforcing ethical priorities—especially truth—as part of his broader dharma teaching.