Shloka 533
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
एवं वा तपसा युक्तो ब्रह्मृहा सवनी भवेत् | ब्रह्महत्या करनेवाला मनुष्य उस मरे हुए ब्राह्मगकी खोपड़ी लेकर अपना पापकर्म लोगोंको सुनाता रहे और बारह वर्षोतक ब्रह्मचर्यका पालन करते हुए सबेरे
evaṁ vā tapasā yukto brahmahā sāvanī bhavet |
Bhishma said: “Alternatively, a slayer of a Brahmin may become purified through austerity. Bearing the skull of the slain Brahmin as a visible mark of his deed, he should openly confess his sinful act before people, live in strict celibacy for twelve years, and bathe three times daily—at dawn, midday, and dusk. Remaining steadfast in such penance, he attains purification from the grave sin of Brahmin-slaying.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the gravest moral transgression (brahmahatyā) is addressed within dharma through prāyaścitta: public acknowledgment of wrongdoing, sustained self-restraint (brahmacarya), and disciplined ritual purification over a long period, aiming at inner reform and social-ethical accountability.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma during the Shanti Parva, he outlines an alternative expiatory regimen for a Brahmin-slayer: carrying the slain Brahmin’s skull as a sign of guilt, confessing the act, observing twelve years of celibacy, and bathing at the three daily ritual times, by which purification is said to be attained.