Shloka 51
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
नैर्कतीं दिशमास्थाय निपतेत् स त्वजिह्मृग: । ब्राह्मणार्थेडपि वा प्राणान् संत्यजेत् तेन शुद्धयति
nairṛtīṁ diśam āsthāya nipatet sa tv ajihmṛgaḥ | brāhmaṇārthe ’pi vā prāṇān saṁtyajet tena śuddhyati |
নৈঋত্য দিশলৈ গৈ যদি সি কপট ত্যাগ কৰি সৰল হৈ তাতে লুটি পৰে, অথবা ব্ৰাহ্মণৰ বাবে প্ৰাণো ত্যাগ কৰে—তেতিয়া তেনে কৰ্মে সি শুদ্ধ হয়।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma presents extreme forms of expiation: purification can be attained through uncompromising sincerity and self-sacrifice, especially when one gives up life for the protection or welfare of a brāhmaṇa.
In Śānti Parva’s dharma-discourse, Bhīṣma is describing acts regarded as powerful atonements—going toward the south‑western quarter and falling down (a ritualized self-offering), or sacrificing one’s life for a brāhmaṇa—as means to remove grave impurity.