Shloka 22
महाव्रतं चरेद् यस्तु दद्यात् सर्वस्वमेव तु । गुर्वर्थे वा हतो युद्धे स मुच्येत् कर्मणो5शुभात्
mahāvrataṃ cared yas tu dadyāt sarvasvam eva tu | gurvarthe vā hato yuddhe sa mucyeta karmaṇo'śubhāt ||
Vyāsa sprach: Wer das große Gelübde auf sich nimmt, oder seinen gesamten Besitz verschenkt, oder im Kampf um seines Lehrers willen fällt—der wird von den Fesseln unheilvoller Taten befreit. Die Lehre betont, dass strenge Selbstzucht, vollkommene Freigebigkeit und selbstaufopfernder, treuer Dienst mächtige Mittel moralischer Läuterung sein können.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that certain intense forms of dharmic commitment—a severe vow (tapas), total giving (dāna), or dying in battle for one’s teacher (guru-sevā)—can cleanse a person of inauspicious karmic bonds, highlighting purification through discipline, generosity, and self-sacrifice.
Vyāsa is explaining modes of expiation and moral purification within the Shānti Parva’s broader instruction on dharma: he lists exemplary acts that are considered powerful enough to free a person from the consequences of wrongful deeds.