Shloka 20
Indra’s Brahma-hatyā, Flight from Sin, and Purification by Aśvamedha
अथेज्यमाने पुरुषे सर्वदेवमयात्मनि । अश्वमेधे महेन्द्रेण वितते ब्रह्मवादिभि: ॥ १९ ॥ स वै त्वाष्ट्रवधो भूयानपि पापचयो नृप । नीतस्तेनैव शून्याय नीहार इव भानुना ॥ २० ॥
athejyamāne puruṣe sarva-devamayātmani aśvamedhe mahendreṇa vitate brahma-vādibhiḥ
Dann, als die Brahmavādīs für Mahendra das Aśvamedha-Opfer vollzogen und er darin den höchsten Purusha verehrte, das Selbst, in dem alle Götter enthalten sind, wurden die Wirkungen all seiner Sünden besänftigt. O König, selbst die schwere Schuld der Tötung des Sohnes Tvaṣṭās wurde dadurch augenblicklich zunichte, wie Nebel beim Sonnenaufgang vergeht.
FAQs
This verse says that even a great burden of sin—like that from killing Vṛtrāsura—can be nullified by the proper sacrificial act, compared to fog vanishing in sunlight.
He is called tvāṣṭra because he was born from Tvaṣṭā (Viśvarūpa’s father), and thus his slaying is described as 'tvāṣṭra-vadha.'
Sincere, dharmic corrective action—done with proper intent and guidance—can gradually clear heavy guilt and wrongdoing, just as light naturally removes darkness.