Satyakriya (satya-kriyā)

A satyakriya, or act of truth, is a solemn declaration of something one has never violated, uttered in order to compel reality to respond. Krishna revives the stillborn Parikshit by swearing on his own lifelong truthfulness and freedom from partiality, and the child breathes. The device recurs throughout Indian narrative because it makes moral consistency into a physical force, and the Mahabharata uses it sparingly enough that each instance carries weight.