Ramayana — Yuddha Kanda, Sarga 88, Shloka 14
इन्द्रजित्–लक्ष्मण संवादः तथा युद्धप्रवृत्तिः
Indrajit and Lakshmana: War-Boasts, Rebuke, and the Clash
सत्वमर्थस्यहीनार्थोदुरवासस्यकेनचित् ।।।।वाचाव्याहृत्यजानीषेकृतार्थोऽस्मीतिदुर्मते ।
sa tvaṃ arthasya hīnārtho durāvāpasya kenacit | vācā vyāhṛtya jānīṣe kṛtārtho 'smīti durmate || 6.88.14 ||
Ngunit ikaw, salat sa tunay na kakayahan, ay nagsasalita na wari’y magagawa mo ang mahirap para sa iba; sa salita lamang ay inaakala mong, ‘Natamo ko na ang layon,’ O hangal na isip.
"O evil minded one! Your claim, in words that you have the capacity to do which is difficult for others is meaningless. Though you lack the capacity to succeed you are only thinking that you have succeeded."
FAQs
Satya requires alignment of word and capacity; dharma condemns self-deception and hollow boasting detached from reality and responsibility.
Lakṣmaṇa counters Indrajit’s intimidation by calling out the emptiness of victory-claims made only in speech.
Truthfulness expressed as realism and accountability—judging success by results, not rhetoric.