na tathya-vacanaṁ satyaṁ nātathya-vacanaṁ mṛṣā |
yad-bhūta-hitam atyantaṁ tat-satyam itaran mṛṣā ||
(Subhāṣita-sudha-nidhi)
“Speaking in accord with facts is not truthfulness. Speaking not in accord with facts is not falsity. That which is supremely beneficial for living beings is truth, and that which is otherwise is falsity.”
satyaṁ bhūta-hitaṁ proktaṁ na yathārthābhibhāṣaṇam |
(Kahāvata-ratnākara)
“Truth is that which is spoken for the benefit of living beings and not [simply] speech that is factual [lit., ‘as is the object’].”
na satyaṁ kevalaṁ satyam anṛtaṁ na tathānṛtam |
hitaṁ yat sarva-lokasya tat satyaṁ śeṣam anyathā ||
(Bhārata Mañjarī)
“Truth is not just truth, and falsity is not just falsity. That which is beneficial to all beings is truth, and the remainder [i.e., all else] is otherwise [i.e., falsity].”
satyasya vacanaṁ śreyaḥ satyād api hitaṁ vadet |
yad bhūta-hitam atyantam etat satyaṁ mataṁ mama ||
(Mahābhārata: Śānti-parva, 316.13)
[Sanāt Kumāra:] “Speaking the truth is best. Speaking that which is beneficial is even better than [speaking] truth. That which is supremely beneficial to living beings is truth. This is my opinion.”
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.”
na puṇyaṁ satya-mātrena satyān nāśo’sti kevalāt |
(Bṛhat-kathā-mañjarī)
“There is no virtue in truth alone; from bare truth ruin ensues.”
satyam eva jayate nānṛtaṁ
satyena panthā vitato devayānaḥ |
yenākramanty ṛṣayo hy āpta-kāmā
yatra tat satyasya paramaṁ nidhānam ||
(Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad: 3.1.6)
“Truth alone triumphs, and not falsity [i.e., those who adhere to truth triumph and not those who engage in falsity]. Through truth is spread out the path of devas by which the ṛṣis of fulfilled desire ascend to that [domain] where there exists the supreme treasure of truth [i.e., Brahman].”
āhuḥ satyaṁ hi paramaṁ dharmaṁ dharma-vido janāḥ |
(Rāmāyaṇa: 2.14.3)
[Kaikeyi to Daśaratha:] “Those who know dharma say that truthfulness is the ultimate dharma.”
akrodhena jayet krodham asādhuṁ sādhunā jayet |
jayet kadaryam dānena jayet satyena cānṛtam ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.39.58)
“Conquer anger [i.e., the anger of others] with the absence of anger. Conquer dishonesty with honesty. Conquer miserliness with charity. Conquer falsity with truthfulness.”
satyaṁ vada dharmaṁ cara |
(Taittirīya Upaniṣad 1.11)
“Speak the truth and adhere to dharma.”
