SB 8.20.4 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

न ह्यसत्यात् परोऽधर्म इति होवाच भूरियम् । सर्वं सोढुमलं मन्ये ऋतेऽलीकपरं नरम् ॥ ४ ॥

Verse text

na hy asatyāt paro ’dharma iti hovāca bhūr iyam sarvaṁ soḍhum alaṁ manye ṛte ’līka-paraṁ naram

Synonyms

na — not ; hi — indeed ; asatyāt — than compulsion to untruthfulness ; paraḥ — more ; adharmaḥ — irreligion ; iti — thus ; ha uvāca — indeed had spoken ; bhūḥ — mother earth ; iyam — this ; sarvam — everything ; soḍhum — to bear ; alam — I am able ; manye — although I think ; ṛte — except ; alīka — param — the most heinous liar ; naram — a human being .

Translation

There is nothing more sinful than untruthfulness. Because of this, mother earth once said, “I can bear any heavy thing except a person who is a liar.”

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The earth said, “There is nothing more sinful than untruthfulness.” I think I can bear any heavy thing except a person who is a liar.

Purport

On the surface of the earth there are many great mountains and oceans that are very heavy, and mother earth has no difficulty carrying them. But she feels very much overburdened when she carries even one person who is a liar. It is said that in Kali-yuga lying is a common affair: māyaiva vyāvahārike ( Bhāg. 12.2.3 ). Even in the most common dealings, people are accustomed to speaking so many lies. No one is free from the sinful reactions of speaking lies. Under the circumstances, one can just imagine how this has overburdened the earth, and indeed the entire universe.