यद्य् अर्धदिवसं द्रोणो युध्यते मन्युम् आस्थितः ॥
सत्यं ब्रवीमि ते सेना विनाशं समुपैष्यति ॥
स भवांस् त्रातु नो द्रोणात् सत्याज् ज्यायो ऽनृतं भवेत् ॥
अनृतं जीवितस्यार्थे वदन् न स्पृश्यते ऽनृतैः ॥
तयोः संवदतोर् एवं भीमसेनो ऽब्रवीद् इदम् ॥
श्रुत्वैव तं महाराज वधोपायं महात्मनः ॥
गाहमानस्य ते सेनां मालवस्येन्द्रवर्मणः ॥
अश्वत्थामेति विख्यातो गजः शक्रगजोपमः ॥
yady ardhadivasaṃ droṇo yudhyate manyum āsthitaḥ ||
satyaṃ bravīmi te senā vināśaṃ samupaiṣyati ||
sa bhavāṃs trātu no droṇāt satyāj jyāyo 'nṛtaṃ bhavet ||
anṛtaṃ jīvitasyārthe vadan na spṛśyate 'nṛtaiḥ ||
tayoḥ saṃvadator evaṃ bhīmaseno 'bravīd idam ||
śrutvaiva taṃ mahārāja vadhopāyaṃ mahātmanaḥ ||
gāhamānasya te senāṃ mālavasyendravarmaṇaḥ ||
aśvatthāmeti vikhyāto gajaḥ śakragajopamaḥ ||
"...truly I tell you: the army will come to destruction. Save us from Drona; let untruth be higher than truth. Untruth spoken for the sake of [saving] life does not stain the speaker with falsehood." While those two [Krishna and Yudhishthira] were thus conversing, Bhimasena, having heard his counsel, O great king, spoke this — the means of slaying the great-souled one: "The elephant of the Malava Indravarman, which was cutting into your army, named Ashvatthaman, resembling Indra's elephant, has been slain in battle, valiantly; then I said to Drona..."
48044489eb58 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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Krishna pronounces a contentious rule: that untruth spoken to save life does not stain. It is telling that this is said in an extremity, where literal truth threatens the destruction of all. The verse teaches that dharma does not always coincide with the letter of the word: there are hours when saving lives outweighs formal truthfulness; but this is a word for extremity, not a general license for falsehood — and the weight of such a choice falls upon the conscience even of the one who makes it.