Shloka 38

Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation

Devanagari script

एतानि हित्वातो<न्यानि निर्देश्यानीति भारत । निर्देश्यानेन विधिना कालेनाव्यसनी भवेत्‌

Transliteration

etāni hitvāto 'nyāni nirdeśyānīti bhārata | nirdeśyānena vidhinā kālenāvyasanī bhavet, bharatanandana ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “O Bharata, apart from these (previously mentioned sins) which are to be set aside as ‘non-expiable’, all other sins are ‘expiable’—they are to be dealt with by prescribed atonements. By undertaking the expiation laid down for them, and in due course, a person should become free from the habit of sin, O delight of the Bharatas.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'etāni', 'definition': 'these (sins/actions just mentioned)'}, {'term': 'hitvā', 'definition': 'having abandoned, setting aside'}, {'term': 'anyāni', 'definition': 'other (sins/actions)'}, {'term': 'nirdeśyāni', 'definition': 'those that are ‘prescribable/definable’—i.e., for which scripture prescribes a remedy/atonement'}, {'term': 'nirdeśyānena vidhinā', 'definition': 'by the prescribed rule/method (of expiation) indicated in śāstra'}, {'term': 'kālena', 'definition': 'in time, in due course (after proper performance and passage of time)'}, {'term': 'avyasanī', 'definition': 'free from vice/addiction

• not given to sinful habit'}, {'term': 'bhārata', 'definition': 'O descendant of Bharata (address to Yudhiṣṭhira)'}, {'term': 'bharatanandana', 'definition': 'O joy of the Bharatas (honorific address)'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Bhārata (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Bharatanandana (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma distinguishes between sins that are ‘non-expiable’ (anirdeśya) and those for which scripture prescribes expiation (nirdeśya). For expiable faults, one should follow the śāstric method of atonement so that, over time, the tendency toward sin is abandoned.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s dharma instruction, Bhishma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on moral law and purification. Having listed certain grave acts as beyond ordinary expiation, he now states that the remaining sins have prescribed remedies and should be corrected through proper prāyaścitta and reform of conduct.