Shloka 66
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
एष दण्डो महाराज स्त्रीणां भर्तृष्वतिक्रमात् । संवत्सराभिशस्तस्य दुष्टस्य द्विगुणो भवेत्
eṣa daṇḍo mahārāja strīṇāṁ bhartṛṣv atikramāt | saṁvatsarābhiśastasya duṣṭasya dviguṇo bhavet ||
Bhīṣma said: “O great king, this is the punishment prescribed for women who transgress against their husbands. For a wicked person who remains under censure for a full year (i.e., does not undertake the required expiation within that time), the penalty should become double.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames royal justice (daṇḍa) as a dharmic instrument: sexual transgression against the marital bond is treated as a serious offense, and failure to perform prescribed expiation within a set time (one year) warrants an increased, doubled penalty.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on rājadharma. Here he states a rule about punishment for transgression related to a husband and adds a procedural principle: if the censured offender does not complete expiation within a year, the punishment is to be doubled.