Shloka 109

Satya–Anṛta Viveka (Discrimination between Truth and Falsehood) | सत्य–अनृत विवेकः

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहा भारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि सत्यानृतकविभागे नवाधिकशततमोड<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate śāntiparvaṇi rājadharmānuśāsanaparvaṇi satyānṛtakavibhāge navādhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

ఇతి శ్రీమహాభారత శాంతిపర్వములో, రాజధర్మానుశాసనపర్వాంతర్గత సత్యానృతవిభాగ విషయక నూట తొమ్మిదవ అధ్యాయం సమాప్తమైంది.

Word by Word

इतिthus; so (end-quotation marker)

श्रीauspiciousness; venerable (honorific)

महाभारतेin the Mahābhārata

शान्तिपर्वणिin the Śānti-parvan

राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणिin the Rājadharmānuśāsana-parvan (section on instruction in royal duties)

सत्यानृतकविभागेin the division/classification of truth and untruth

नवाधिकशततमःone-hundred-and-ninth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

Śānti Parva

Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva

Satya

Anṛta

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The chapter’s stated theme is the discernment between satya (truth) and anṛta (falsehood) within rājadharma: a ruler’s ethical responsibility to recognize truth, avoid deception, and understand the moral and practical consequences that follow from truthfulness versus falsehood.

What is happening in the narrative?

This line is a formal colophon concluding the chapter. It situates the discussion within the Mahābhārata’s Śānti Parva, in the rājadharma instruction section, and names the topic (truth and untruth), marking the end of the 109th chapter.