Devanagari
अत्रापि बह्वृचैर्गीतं शृणु मेऽसुरसत्तम ।
सत्यमोमिति यत् प्रोक्तं यन्नेत्याहानृतं हि तत् ॥ ३८ ॥
Verse text
atrāpi bahvṛcair gītaṁ
śṛṇu me ’sura-sattama
satyam om iti yat proktaṁ
yan nety āhānṛtaṁ hi tat
Synonyms
atra api
—
in this regard also (in deciding what is truth and what is not truth)
;
bahu-ṛcaiḥ
—
by the śruti-mantras known as Bahvṛca-śruti, which are evidence from the Vedas
;
gītam
—
what has been spoken
;
śṛṇu
—
just hear
;
me
—
from me
;
asura-sattama
—
O best of the asuras
;
satyam
—
the truth is
;
om iti
—
preceded by the word om
;
yat
—
that which
;
proktam
—
has been spoken
;
yat
—
that which is
;
na
—
not preceded by om
;
iti
—
thus
;
āha
—
it is said
;
anṛtam
—
untruth
;
hi
—
indeed
;
tat
—
that.
Translation
One might argue that since you have already promised, how can you refuse? O best of the demons, just take from me the evidence of the Bahvṛca-śruti, which says that a promise is truthful preceded by the word om and untruthful if not.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
O best of the demons! Hear from me the evidence of the Bahvṛca-śruti in this regard. A promise is truthful preceded by the word oṁ and untruthful if not.
“If I have something to give, and I say I have nothing, how can I avoid the sin of lying?” This is explained in six verses and a half. In regards to truth and untruth, what is preceded by oṁ is true. What is not preceded by oṁ is untrue. Śruti says oṁ iti satyaṁ nety anṛtam: oṁ indicates truth and lack of it indicates untruth.