Shloka 50
Prāyaścitta and Contextual Non-Culpability (प्रायश्चित्त-निमित्त-अदोषवाद)
अथवा ते घृणा काचित् प्रायश्षित्तं चरिष्यसि । मा त्वेवानार्यजुष्टेन मन्युना निधनं गम:
athavā te ghṛṇā kācit prāyaścittaṁ cariṣyasi | mā tv evānāryajuṣṭena manyunā nidhanaṁ gamaḥ ||
وإن بقي في نفسك شيء من النفور أو الندم بسبب تلك الوقائع الماضية، فقم بكفّارة عنها. ولكن لا تذهب إلى هلاكك—لا تطلب الموت—وأنت تحت سلطان الحزن أو الغضب، وهما شعوران يتشبّث بهما الأدنياء.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
If remorse or aversion arises from past deeds, it should be addressed through prāyaścitta (ethical expiation and reform), not through self-destruction. Anger-driven despair is labeled 'anārya'—unworthy of a noble person—and must not govern one’s actions.
Vyāsa counsels a distressed listener who is burdened by memories of earlier events. He offers a dharmic remedy—expiation and inner correction—while explicitly warning against yielding to ignoble anger or grief that could lead to choosing death.