Shloka 73
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
तत्रैव लब्धभोजी स्याद् द्वादशाहात्स शुद्धयति । चरेत् संवत्सरं चापि तद् व्रतं येन कृन्तति
tatraiva labdhabhojī syād dvādaśāhāt sa śuddhyati | caret saṁvatsaraṁ cāpi tad vrataṁ yena kṛntati ||
Bhishma said: “He should live there on whatever food he obtains; within twelve days he becomes purified. If the sin is heavier, he should also observe that vow for a full year—by which he cuts off and destroys the stain of his wrongdoing.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ethical wrongdoing is addressed through disciplined expiation: living on what one receives, observing a prescribed vow, and allowing time-bound austerity (twelve days, or a year for graver fault) to ‘cut off’ the moral and ritual taint.
In Bhishma’s dharma-instruction, he outlines the duration and effect of an expiatory observance: a person becomes purified in twelve days by living on obtained food, and for more serious sin the same vow is extended to a year to eradicate the offense.