Shloka 17
अत्रेः तपोबलप्रकाशः तथा च्यवनस्य सोमाधिकारः
Atri’s Illumination by Tapas; Cyavana and Soma-Entitlement
मृतस्य दशरात्रेण प्रायश्चित्तानि दापयेत् सावित्री रैवतीमिष्टिं कृूष्माण्डमघमर्षणम्
mṛtasya daśarātreṇa prāyaścittāni dāpayet | sāvitrīṃ raivatīm iṣṭiṃ kūṣmāṇḍam aghamarṣaṇam ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Wenn während der zehntägigen Unreinheit nach einem Todesfall jemand im Haus eines anderen isst, soll er zu Sühnehandlungen (prāyaścitta) angehalten werden. Das Heilmittel ist die Rezitation der Sāvitrī (Gāyatrī)-Mantra, der Raivatī-Ritus, die reinigende iṣṭi (Opferdarbringung), die Kūṣmāṇḍa-Formel und der Aghamarṣaṇa-Hymnus — so wird der Makel getilgt und rituelle wie ethische Ordnung wiederhergestellt.“
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that violations committed during the sensitive period of death-impurity (maraṇa-āśauca) require deliberate expiation. Dharma is maintained not only by avoiding improper conduct but also by restoring purity through prescribed mantra-recitation and rites when a lapse occurs.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhīṣma lays down a specific rule: if someone eats food while under the ten-day death-impurity connected with another household, he should undertake named purificatory recitations/rites—Sāvitrī (Gāyatrī), Raivatī, an iṣṭi, Kūṣmāṇḍa, and Aghamarṣaṇa—to remove the fault.