Volume 2 · Dharma Veda · Chapter 3 · Dharma Saṃhitā - Short Hymns of Duty
वचन-धर्मः
Canon Rev1 / Commentary Rev1 (25 December 2025)
Sanskrit
वचनं विश्वास-सेतुḥ, प्रतिज्ञा धर्म-लक्षणा ।
यः भङ् क्ति लोभतः सत्यं, सः स्वयम् पतति निश्चितम् ॥
IAST
vacanaṃ viśvāsa-setuḥ, pratijñā dharma-lakṣaṇā |
yaḥ bhaṅkti lobhataḥ satyaṃ, saḥ svayam patati niścitam ||
English (literal)
A word is a bridge of trust; a promise is Dharma. Breaking it for greed brings one’s fall.
English (poetic)
Keep your word.
Commentary
Bhāṣya
Words are bridges; promises are load-bearing beams. Societies decay when commitments become cheap. The mantra ties truth to trust: without fidelity in speech, contracts fail, families fracture, and institutions become theaters. This hymn is also anti-propaganda: propaganda breaks trust by training people to treat speech as manipulation rather than meaning. Param Veda restores the older discipline: speak so that another can safely rely upon you. In professional life, this is duty in its most practical form: deadlines, standards, and honest reporting. In civic life, it is the foundation of diplomacy — peace treaties depend on it.
Praśna–Uttara
Student
“What if the promise was foolish?”
Teacher
“Then repair it openly; do not betray it secretly.”
Student
“What is the purest promise?”
Teacher
“To tell the truth even when convenient lies exist.”
Prayoga
- Under-promise, over-deliver.
- When you must change a commitment, communicate early and compensate fairly.
- Keep a ‘promise ledger’: what you owe, by when, and why.