Dharma

satyasya vacanaṁ sādhu na satyād vidyate param

satyasya vacanaṁ sādhu na satyād vidyate param |
tattvenaitat sudurjñeyaṁ yasya satyam anuṣṭhitam ||
bhavet satyam avaktavyaṁ vaktavyam anṛtaṁ bhavet |
sarvasvasyāpahāre tu vaktavyam anṛtaṁ bhavet ||
prāṇātyaye vivāhe ca vaktavyam anṛtaṁ bhavet |
yatrānṛtaṁ bhavet satyaṁ satyaṁ cāpy anṛtaṁ bhavet ||
tādṛśaṁ paśyate bālo yasya satyam anuṣṭhitam |
satyānṛte viniścitya tato bhavati dharmavit ||
(Mahābhārata: 8.49.27–30)

“Truthful speech is best. There is nothing greater than truth. That in which truth is [verily] established [however] is very difficult to truly understand. Truth can be improper to speak, and untruth can be proper to speak. Untruth may be spoken when all of one’s wealth may be lost. Untruth may be spoken when one’s life is at stake and in regard to marriage. O child, recognize that wherein untruth can be truth, truth can also be untruth, and wherein truth is established. After determining [what is] truth and [what is] untruth one then becomes a knower of dharma.”

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na hy asatyāt paro’dharma iti hovāca bhūr iyam

na hy asatyāt paro’dharma iti hovāca bhūr iyam |
sarvaṁ soḍhum alaṁ manye ṛte’līka-paraṁ naram ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.20.4)

[Bali Mahārāja to Śukrācārya:] “The earth said, ‘There is no greater adharma than untruthfulness.‘ I think I can verily tolerate everything except an untruthful person.”

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kṣīṇa-rikthaś cyutaḥ sthānāt kṣipto baddhaś ca śatrubhiḥ

kṣīṇa-rikthaś cyutaḥ sthānāt kṣipto baddhaś ca śatrubhiḥ |
jñātibhiś ca parityakto yātanām anuyāpitaḥ ||
guruṇā bhartsitaḥ śapto jahau satyaṁ na suvrataḥ |
chalair ukto mayā dharmo nāyaṁ tyajati satya-vāk ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.22.29‒30)

[Vāmanadeva to Brahmā about Bali Mahārāja:] “Although he was bereft of his property, deprived of his position, thrown down and bound by his enemies, deserted by his kinsmen, subjected repeatedly to torment, and chastized and cursed by his guru, he did not give up his truthfulness, as he was firmly avowed. Even when I spoke [to him] about dharma deceptively, he did not give up speaking the truth.”

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satyaṁ brūyāt priyaṁ brūyān na brūyāt satyam apriyaṁ

satyaṁ brūyāt priyaṁ brūyān na brūyāt satyam apriyaṁ |
priyaṁ ca nānṛtaṁ brūyād eṣa dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ ||
(Manu Smṛti: 4.138)

“Speak the truth, and speak that which is pleasant. Do not speak an unpleasant truth, and do not speak a pleasant untruth. This is the age-old dharma.”

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prāṇātyaye vivāhe ca vaktavyam anṛtaṁ bhavet

prāṇātyaye vivāhe ca vaktavyam anṛtaṁ bhavet |
anṛtaṁ ca bhavet satyaṁ satyaṁ caivānṛtaṁ bhavet ||
yad bhūta-hitam atyantaṁ tat satyam iti dhāraṇā |
viparyaya-kṛto’dharmaḥ paśya dharmasya sūkṣmatām ||
(Mahābhārata: 3.200.3–4)

“When one’s life is at stake and in regard to marriage, an untruth can be spoken. [In these cases,] Untruth becomes truth, and truth becomes untruth. That [action or speech] which is of the greater benefit to living beings is truth. This is the conclusion. Doing the opposite is adharma. See the subtlety of dharma.”

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na sā sabhā yatra na santi vṛddhā

na sā sabhā yatra na santi vṛddhā
na te vṛddhā ye na vadanti dharmam |
nāsau dharmo yatra na satyam asti
na tat satyaṁ yac chalenābhyupetam ||
(Mahābhārata: Udyoga-parva)

“That wherein there are no wise persons is not an assembly [of any substance]. Those who do not speak of dharma are not wise persons. That wherein there is no truth is not dharma. And that which has been infiltrated by deceit is not truth.”

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dharmān anyān parityajya mām ekaṁ bhaja viśvasan

dharmān anyān parityajya mām ekaṁ bhaja viśvasan |
yādṛśī yādṛśī śraddhā siddhir bhavati tādṛśī ||
(Brahma-saṁhitā: 5.61)

“Completely relinquishing other dharmas, worship me alone, fostering conviction. Howsoever is the śraddhā [one fosters], so is the attainment (siddhi) [one achieves].”

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devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṝṇāṁ

devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṝṇāṁ
na kiṅkaro nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan |
sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ
gato mukundaṁ parihṛtya kartam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.5.41)

“O King, one who has forsaken one’s duties and taken shelter completely in the ultimate shelterer, Mukunda, is neither a servant of, nor a debtor to, the devas, the ṛṣis, [other] living beings, relatives, humanity, or ancestors.”

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