Satyaṃ brūyāt priyaṃ brūyāt: speak the truth kindly
सत्यं ब्रूयात् प्रियं ब्रूयान् न ब्रूयात् सत्यम् अप्रियम् ।
प्रियं च नानृतं ब्रूयाद् एष धर्मः सनातनः ॥
satyaṃ brūyāt priyaṃ brūyān na brūyāt satyam apriyam |
priyaṃ ca nānṛtaṃ brūyād eṣa dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ ||
Translation
One should speak the truth, and speak what is pleasant; one should not speak a truth that is unpleasant, nor a pleasant untruth. This is the eternal law.
Meaning
From the fourth chapter of the Manusmṛti, the rules for the householder. The verse is a small lesson in tact: truth and kindness should go together.
Read it carefully and it is stricter than it looks. It does not permit a pleasant lie (priyaṃ ca nānṛtam), and it does not permit hurting with the truth. What remains is either to say the truth gently or to stay silent.
Notice the optative brūyāt, "one should speak", used five times: Sanskrit law books give their rules in this mood.
Word by word · 10 words
| Devanagari | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| सत्यम् | satyam | the truth (acc. sg. n.) |
| ब्रूयात् | brūyāt | one should speak (3rd sg. optative of √brū) |
| प्रियम् | priyam | what is pleasant (acc. sg. n.) |
| न | na | not |
| अप्रियम् | apriyam | unpleasant (acc. sg. n.) |
| च | ca | and |
| अनृतम् | anṛtam | untruth (acc. sg. n.) |
| एषः | eṣaḥ | this (nom. sg. m.) |
| धर्मः | dharmaḥ | law, right conduct (nom. sg. m.) |
| सनातनः | sanātanaḥ | eternal, ancient (nom. sg. m.) |
Pronunciation
satyaṃ brūyāt priyaṃ brūyān na brūyāt satyam apriyam |
priyaṃ ca nānṛtaṃ brūyād eṣa dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ ||
- brūyāt: b-r cluster, long ū and ā: brū-yāt.
- sanātanaḥ: long ā in the middle, sa-nā-ta-naḥ.
- ṛ is a vowel, a short syllabic r (like the "ri" in "rhythm" said quickly): mṛ-tyu, not mar-tyu.
- A final visarga ḥ is a soft "h" breath that echoes the vowel before it: namaḥ sounds like "nama-ha" (lightly).