Shloka 60
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
गुर्वर्थमभयार्थ वा वर्जयित्वा युधिष्ठिर । येडनृतं कथयन्ति सम ते वै निरयगामिन:
gurvartham abhayārthaṃ vā varjayitvā yudhiṣṭhira | ye 'nṛtaṃ kathayanti samā te vai nirayagāminaḥ ||
اے یُدھشٹھِر! استاد کے بھلے کے لیے یا کسی کو خوف سے نجات دلانے کے لیے جو خلافِ واقعہ کہا جائے، اس کے سوا دوسرے مواقع پر جو جھوٹ بولتے ہیں وہ یقیناً دوزخ گامی ہیں۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthfulness is the norm in dharma, and falsehood generally leads to grave moral consequence; however, Bhīṣma acknowledges narrow exceptions—speaking untruth to benefit the guru or to protect someone from fear—while condemning other lies as hell-leading.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous conduct. Here he addresses the ethics of speech, distinguishing rare protective or duty-based exceptions from ordinary deceit, and warns of the karmic result of habitual or self-serving lying.