Shloka 36
Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas: Liquor, Theft, Sexual Transgression, Contact with the Fallen, and Homicide
पुल्कसीगमने चैव क्रच्छ्रं चान्द्रायणं चरेत् / नटीं शैलूषकीं चैव रजकीं वेणुजीविनीम् / गत्वा चान्द्रायणं कुर्यात् तथा चर्मोपजीविनीम्
pulkasīgamane caiva kracchraṃ cāndrāyaṇaṃ caret / naṭīṃ śailūṣakīṃ caiva rajakīṃ veṇujīvinīm / gatvā cāndrāyaṇaṃ kuryāt tathā carmopajīvinīm
Hat jemand Verkehr mit einer Pulkasī-Frau, so soll er die Kṛcchra-Buße und das Cāndrāyaṇa-Gelübde verrichten. Ebenso soll er nach dem Verkehr mit einer Tänzerin, einer Schauspielerin, einer Wäscherin, einer Flötenspielerin oder einer Lederarbeiterin die Cāndrāyaṇa-Sühne leisten.
Vyasa (narrating dharma/prāyaścitta instruction within the Purāṇic discourse)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
FAQs
This verse does not teach Ātman-doctrine directly; it focuses on dharma and prāyaścitta—purifying conduct through disciplined vows (vrata) so the mind becomes fit for higher knowledge taught elsewhere in the Purāṇa.
No meditative yoga is prescribed here; the practice emphasized is tapas in the form of Kr̥cchra and Cāndrāyaṇa (graded fasting and restraint), which function as ethical-ascetic disciplines supporting inner purification.
It does not address Śiva–Viṣṇu unity explicitly; it belongs to the Purva-bhāga’s dharma section. The synthesis becomes explicit in later Upari-bhāga teachings (including the Īśvara-gītā), where devotion and yoga are framed in a unified theistic vision.