Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, 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

如是，在尊贵的《摩诃婆罗多》之《寂静篇》（Śānti Parva）中，尤在“王法训诫”之部，于“辨别真实与虚妄”这一题旨下，第一百零九章宣告终结。此为章末结语（colophon），用以标记本章伦理论述之闭合：君王当明辨并护持真理，亦当洞见虚妄之危险与其后果。

Word by Word

• इति: thus; so (end-quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• श्री: auspiciousness; venerable (honorific)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• महाभारते: in the Mahābhārata
• महाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• शान्तिपर्वणि: in the Śānti-parvan
• शान्तिपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शान्तिपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि: in the Rājadharmānuśāsana-parvan (section on instruction in royal duties)
• राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• सत्यानृतकविभागे: in the division/classification of truth and untruth
• सत्यानृतकविभागे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्यानृतकविभाग
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• नवाधिकशततमः: one-hundred-and-ninth
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नवाधिकशततम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अध्यायः: chapter
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mahābhārata
• Śānti Parva
• Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva
• Satya
• Anṛta

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.