Shloka 12
Prāyaścitta and Contextual Non-Culpability (प्रायश्चित्त-निमित्त-अदोषवाद)
कपिलानां सहस्राणि यो दद्यात् पजचविंशतिम् | दोग्ध्रीणां स च पापेभ्य: सर्वेभ्यो विप्रमुच्यते
kapilānāṁ sahasrāṇi yo dadyāt pañcaviṁśatim | dogdhrīṇāṁ sa ca pāpebhyaḥ sarvebhyo vipramucyate ||
Vyāsa said: Whoever gives away twenty-five thousand tawny (kapilā) milch-cows is freed from all sins.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that large-scale, life-supporting charity—specifically gifting milch-cows—functions as a potent dharmic act that purifies wrongdoing and releases one from the burden of sins.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Vyāsa states a rule of merit: a person who donates twenty-five thousand tawny milch-cows attains freedom from all sins, illustrating the text’s emphasis on dāna as a means to restoration and peace.