Mahabharata lays a great stress on truth. In the Anushasana Parva, Bhishma tells Yudhishthira:
Satyeshu yatitavyam vah satyam hi param balam|
Exert in truth, for truth is the greatest force.
Mahabharata also repeatedly stresses that the nature of truth is very complex and exceedingly difficult to grasp. We may think that speaking the truth and refraining from uttering lies may count as following the truth, but this may not always be enough.
In the Battle of Kurukshetra, Guru Dronacharya was fighting on the side of the Kauravas. He was an expert in warfare who had taught both Kauravas and Pandavas. In the war, he proved unconquerable. A plan was hatched by Sri Krishna, according to which Bhima shouted in Drona’s hearing, “Asvatthama is dead.” This was technically true because earlier Bhima had killed an elephant called Asvatthama from his own army. Drona loved his son Asvatthama dearly and had confidence in his prowess. He refused to believe it until he heard it from Yudhishthira, who was known to always speak the truth. Yudhishthira repeated “Asvatthama is dead,” loudly, and added “It was Asvatthama the elephant” in a whisper that Drona could not hear in the din of the war. Drona believed it. Stunned, he laid down his arms and sat down in his chariot with his eyes closed. When he was grieving like this, Dhrishtadyumna rushed at him, seized him by his hair, and cut his head off with his sword. Arjuna, though aware of the plan, rushed to save his guru but he was too late.
The words spoken by Bhima and Yudhishthira were true and yet they cannot be called the truth. They knowingly and deliberately misled Drona. Their words were designed to cleverly serve the purpose of a lie, without being an outright lie. Mahabharata immediately and clearly denounces this act.
