सर्वं सोढुमलं मन्ये ऋतेऽलीकपरं नरम् ॥४॥
na hy asatyÄt paro 'dharma
iti hovÄca bhÅ«r iyam
sarvaá¹ soá¸hum alaá¹ manye
ṛte 'līka-paraṠnaram
na - not; hi - indeed; asatyÄt - than compulsion to untruthfulness; paraḥ - more; adharmaḥ - irreligion; iti - thus; ha uvÄca - indeed had spoken; bhūḥ - mother earth; iyam - this; sarvam - everything; soá¸hum - to bear; alam - I am able; manye - although I think; á¹›te - except; alÄ«ka-param - the most heinous liar; naram - a human being.
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.â€
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: mÄyaiva vyÄvahÄrike (BhÄg. 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.
