Shloka 24

Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas (Great Sins), Vows, Tīrtha, and Sin-Destroying Observances

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मघ्नं वा कृतघ्नं वा महापातकदूषितम् / भर्तारमुद्धरेन्नारी प्रविष्टा सह पावकम्

Transliteration

brahmaghnaṃ vā kṛtaghnaṃ vā mahāpātakadūṣitam / bhartāramuddharennārī praviṣṭā saha pāvakam

Translation

Selbst wenn der Gatte ein Brahmanenmörder, undankbar oder von großen Sünden befleckt ist, kann die Frau ihn erlösen, indem sie mit ihm ins Feuer eingeht.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मघ्नम्: a Brahmin-slayer
• ब्रह्मघ्नम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मघ्न (प्रातिपदिक; ब्रह्मन् + घ्न)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘ब्रह्महन्तारम्’ (one who kills a Brahmin)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive particle)

• कृतघ्नम्: an ungrateful person
• कृतघ्नम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृतघ्न (प्रातिपदिक; कृत + घ्न)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘उपकारघ्नम्’ (ungrateful person)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक निपात

• महापातकदूषितम्: tainted by great sins
• महापातकदूषितम्: Karman (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महापातक + दूषित (प्रातिपदिके; दूष् (धातु) → क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; ‘महापातकेन दूषितम्’

• भर्तारम्: husband
• भर्तारम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• उद्धरेत्: should rescue; should lift out
• उद्धरेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + हृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• नारी: a woman
• नारी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• प्रविष्टा: having entered
• प्रविष्टा: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + विश् (धातु) → प्रविष्ट (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past participle) स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोग, नारी-विशेषण

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahartha (Accompaniment/सहार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्गसदृश अव्यय; सह = with (saha-yoga)

• पावकम्: fire
• पावकम्: Sahartha (Accompaniment/सहार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पावक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सह-योगे (object with सह)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: A wife’s extreme act of entering fire with/after her husband is asserted to ‘deliver’ even a grievously sinful husband—elevating pativrata-ideal as redemptive power.

Vedantic Theme: Tension between karma (individual responsibility) and claimed transfer/mitigation through another’s tapas/tyaga; highlights dharma-textual valorization of pativrata.

Application: As a text-historical teaching, it illustrates past norms; in modern application, treat it as symbolic of steadfast support and moral courage, not as a prescription for self-harm.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: raudra

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana: pativrata-mahatmya themes and sin/purification discourse (varies by recension)

Characters & Entities

• Agni (Pavaka)

FAQs

What is the importance of a wife's dharma in the Garuda Purana?

This verse presents the wife’s devotion as spiritually potent, claiming it can rescue even a husband stained by major sins.

How does this verse explain release from heavy sins (mahāpātaka)?

It frames extreme self-sacrificial austerity associated with Agni as a means by which the husband may be ‘lifted up’ from the consequences of grave wrongdoing.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat it as an emphasis on moral responsibility, fidelity, and the transformative power of sincere commitment—while approaching literal fire-rites as historical/sectarian context rather than a modern prescription.