Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 62
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
सत्यं वदत मासत्यं सत्यं धर्म: सनातन: । हरिश्न्द्रश्नरति वै दिवि सत्येन चन्द्रवत्,सत्य बोलो, असत्य न बोलो, सत्य ही सनातन धर्म है। राजा हरिश्वन्द्र सत्यके प्रभावसे आकाशमें चन्द्रमाके समान विचरते हैं
bhīṣma uvāca | satyaṁ vadata māsatyaṁ satyaṁ dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ | hariścandraḥ śarati vai divi satyena candravat ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Magsalita ng katotohanan; huwag magsalita ng kasinungalingan. Ang katotohanan ang walang hanggang dharma. Sa kapangyarihan ng katotohanan, ang Haring Hariścandra ay tunay na gumagalaw sa kalangitan na gaya ng buwan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthfulness is presented as the perennial foundation of dharma: one should speak truth and avoid falsehood, because truth sustains moral order and elevates the speaker.
Bhishma instructs his listener through a direct ethical command and reinforces it with an exemplar: King Harishchandra, famed for unwavering truth, is said to attain celestial glory—moving in the heavens like the moon—through the power of truth.