Shloka 13
अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः
Measures of Time from the Unmanifest; Creation, Elements, and the Primacy of Mind
वेदस्योपनिषत् सत्यं सत्यस्योपनिषद् दम: । दमस्योपनिषन्मोक्ष एतत् सर्वानुशासनम्
vedasyopaniṣat satyaṃ satyasyopaniṣad damaḥ | damasyopaniṣan mokṣa etat sarvānuśāsanam ||
वेदस्योपनिषत् सत्यं, सत्यस्योपनिषद् दमः। दमस्योपनिषन्मोक्षः—एतत् सर्वानुशासनम्॥
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
It presents a graded ethical-spiritual chain: the Veda’s true purport is truthfulness; truth is safeguarded and fulfilled by self-restraint (dama); and the culmination of self-restraint is liberation (mokṣa). In short, inner discipline makes truth stable, and that discipline ripens into freedom.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Haṃsa (the Swan) speaks as a teacher, distilling the vast scriptural tradition into a concise maxim that links study and doctrine to lived virtues—truthful conduct and sense-control—aimed ultimately at mokṣa.