Shloka 47
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
सुरापो वारुणीमुष्णां पीत्वा पापाद् विमुच्यते
bhīṣma uvāca | surāpo vāruṇīm uṣṇāṃ pītvā pāpād vimucyate |
ভীষ্মে ক’লে—সুৰাপানৰ দোষ কৰা মানুহে অতি উষ্ণ কৰা বাৰুণী পান কৰিলে পাপৰ পৰা মুক্ত হয় বুলি কোৱা হয়। ভাব এই যে, সেই তীব্ৰ দাহজনিত যন্ত্ৰণা—অথবা তাতে হোৱা মৃত্যু—প্ৰায়শ্চিত্তৰূপে গণ্য; এনে শুদ্ধিৰ পাছতহে সি শুদ্ধ লোক লাভৰ যোগ্য হয়, নচেৎ নহয়।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a harsh prāyaścitta (expiation) for the sin of drinking liquor: intense physical suffering (symbolized by drinking scalding vāruṇī, even to the point of death) is portrayed as a means of purification, after which one becomes eligible for ‘pure worlds’; without expiation, one is not.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma is teaching Yudhiṣṭhira about rules of conduct and expiations. Here he cites a specific expiatory rule concerning the liquor-drinker and the conditions under which purification is considered complete.