Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 24
Gautama’s Flight, the Enchanted Grove, and the Arrival of Rājadharma
Nāḍījaṅgha
नास्ति सत्यात् परो धर्मो नानृतात् पातकं परम् | स्थितिर्हि सत्यं धर्मस्य तस्मात् सत्यं न लोपयेत्
nāsti satyāt paro dharmo nānṛtāt pātakaṃ param | sthitir hi satyaṃ dharmasya tasmāt satyaṃ na lopayet ||
Bhīṣma nói: Không có dharma nào cao hơn chân thật, và không có tội nào lớn hơn dối trá. Chân thật chính là nền tảng để dharma đứng vững; vì vậy chớ bao giờ làm suy giảm hay từ bỏ chân thật.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Truthfulness is presented as the highest form of dharma, while falsehood is the gravest moral failing. Since dharma depends upon truth as its support, one should preserve truth in speech and conduct.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he emphasizes a foundational ethical principle—truth as the sustaining ground of righteous life—within his broader counsel on governance and personal conduct.