Shloka 77
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
अपसरभत्र्यहं पिबेदुष्णं ःयहमुष्णं पय: पिबेत् । त्रयहमुष्णं पय: पीत्वा वायुभक्षो भवेत् तयहम्
apsarabhātry ahaṁ pibed uṣṇaṁ tryaham uṣṇaṁ payaḥ pibet | tryaham uṣṇaṁ payaḥ pītvā vāyubhakṣo bhavet tryaham ||
Bhīṣma said: “If a Soma-drinking brāhmaṇa even smells the odor of liquor, he should undertake a purificatory regimen: for three days he should drink only hot water; for the next three days he should drink only hot milk; and after drinking hot milk for three days, he should live for three days on air alone (i.e., fast completely). By this discipline he becomes purified.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even indirect contact with a serious impurity (here, the smell of liquor) is treated as ethically and ritually significant for a Soma-qualified brāhmaṇa; purification is achieved through a graded, disciplined austerity—hot water, then hot milk, then complete fasting—emphasizing self-restraint and restoration of ritual fitness.
In Śānti Parva’s dharma instruction, Bhīṣma lays down a specific expiatory procedure (prāyaścitta) for a brāhmaṇa who has encountered the odor of alcohol, prescribing a nine-day regimen culminating in a three-day fast to regain purity.