Shloka 19
Devanagari script
प्राणात्यये विवाहे च वक्तव्यमनृतं भवेत्
Transliteration
prāṇātyaye vivāhe ca vaktavyam anṛtaṃ bhavet
Translation
प्राणात्यये विवाहे च वक्तव्यमनृतं भवेत् ॥
Word by Word
प्राणात्ययेin danger of life / at the point of death
प्राणात्यये:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootप्राणात्यय
FormMasculine, Locative, Singular
विवाहेin marriage (ceremony)
विवाहे:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootविवाह
FormMasculine, Locative, Singular
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
वक्तव्यम्to be spoken / should be said
वक्तव्यम्:
Karma
TypeVerb
Rootवच्
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
अनृतम्untruth / falsehood
अनृतम्:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootअनृत
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
भवेत्may be / would be
भवेत्:
TypeVerb
Rootभू
FormOptative (Vidhi-lin), Third, Singular
Speaker
भीष्म उवाच
Characters & Entities
B
BhīṣmaCharacter Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma states an ethical exception: although truthfulness is a general dharma, in extreme situations—especially when a life must be saved, and in certain marriage-related contexts—speaking an untruth can be considered permissible.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma is laying out nuanced rules of conduct, explaining that moral duties are sometimes context-sensitive and that rigid truth-telling may yield to higher aims like protecting life or preserving socially sanctioned marital outcomes.