Shloka 22
Prāyaścitta and Contextual Non-Culpability (प्रायश्चित्त-निमित्त-अदोषवाद)
महाव्रतं चरेद् यस्तु दद्यात् सर्वस्वमेव तु । गुर्वर्थे वा हतो युद्धे स मुच्येत् कर्मणो5शुभात्
mahāvrataṃ cared yas tu dadyāt sarvasvam eva tu | gurvarthe vā hato yuddhe sa mucyeta karmaṇo'śubhāt ||
ব্যাস বললেন—যে মহাব্রত পালন করে, যে নিজের সর্বস্ব দান করে, অথবা যে গুরুর উদ্দেশ্যে যুদ্ধে নিহত হয়—সে অশুভ কর্মের বন্ধন থেকে মুক্ত হয়।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that certain intense forms of dharmic commitment—a severe vow (tapas), total giving (dāna), or dying in battle for one’s teacher (guru-sevā)—can cleanse a person of inauspicious karmic bonds, highlighting purification through discipline, generosity, and self-sacrifice.
Vyāsa is explaining modes of expiation and moral purification within the Shānti Parva’s broader instruction on dharma: he lists exemplary acts that are considered powerful enough to free a person from the consequences of wrongful deeds.