Shloka 11
Prāyaścitta and Contextual Non-Culpability (प्रायश्चित्त-निमित्त-अदोषवाद)
गवां शतसहसं्रं तु पात्रेभ्य: प्रतिपादयेत् । ब्रह्महा विप्रमुच्येत सर्वपापेभ्य एव च,जो पुरुष ब्राह्मणके लिये युद्धमें प्राण दे देता है, वह भी ब्रह्महत्यासे छूट जाता है। ब्रह्महत्यारा होनेपर भी जो सुपात्र ब्राह्मणोंको एक लाख गौओंका दान करता है, वह सम्पूर्ण पापोंसे मुक्त हो जाता है
gavāṁ śatasahasraṁ tu pātrebhyaḥ pratipādayet | brahmahā vipramucyeta sarvapāpebhya eva ca ||
قال فياسا: حتى قاتل البرهميّ يُعتَق: فإذا قدّم على الوجه اللائق مئةَ ألفِ بقرةٍ إلى مستحقّين، تحرّر من جميع الآثام.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even grave wrongdoing is presented as remediable through prāyaścitta: vast, properly directed charity (here, gifting 100,000 cows to truly worthy recipients) is said to cleanse even the sin of brahmahatyā, emphasizing restitution, sincerity, and the importance of the recipient’s fitness (pātratā).
Vyāsa is stating a rule of expiation within a dharma-discourse: he describes a specific atonement—donating a hundred thousand cows to qualified recipients—and declares its power to free even a brahmahā from all sins.