Shloka 44
कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī
इष्टवा यथावद् बलभिदरुणायामुपास्पृशत् | स मुक्तः पाप्मना तेन ब्रह्म॒वध्याकृतेन च
iṣṭvā yathāvad balabhid-aruṇāyām upāspṛśat | sa muktaḥ pāpmanā tena brahmavadhyākṛtena ca
Nachdem er das vorgeschriebene Ritual ordnungsgemäß vollzogen hatte, berührte er sodann das Wasser bei Balabhid-Aruṇā als reinigenden Akt. Durch diese Observanz wurde er von der Befleckung der Sünde befreit—insbesondere von der schweren Schuld, die durch die Tötung eines Brāhmaṇa entstanden war—und gewann so rituelle wie sittliche Reinheit nach einer Übertretung zurück.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in the aftermath of grave wrongdoing, dharma provides structured means—properly performed rites and purification—to acknowledge transgression and seek release from its moral and ritual taint, emphasizing accountability and restoration rather than denial.
The narrator states that the person in question completes a rite correctly and then performs a purificatory water-touching at the sacred place called Aruṇā; through this observance he becomes freed from the sin, explicitly including the heavy guilt of brāhmaṇa-slaying.