Shloka 2
Prāyaścitta and Contextual Non-Culpability (प्रायश्चित्त-निमित्त-अदोषवाद)
एककालं तु भुञज्जीत चरन् भैक्ष्यं स्वकर्मकृत् कपालपाणि: खट्वाज़ी ब्रह्मचारी सदोत्थित:,यदि किसीने ब्रह्महत्या की हो तो वह भिक्षा मागकर एक समय भोजन करे, अपना सब काम स्वयं ही करे, हाथमें खप्पर और खाटका पाया लिये रहे, सदा ब्रह्मचर्यव्रतका पालन करे, उद्यमशील बना रहे, किसीके दोष न देखे, जमीन पर सोये और लोकमें अपना पापकर्म प्रकट करता रहे। इस प्रकार बारह वर्षतक करनेसे ब्रह्महत्यारा पापमुक्त हो जाता है
ekakālaṃ tu bhuñjīta caran bhaikṣyaṃ svakarmakṛt | kapālapāṇiḥ khaṭvāṅgī brahmacārī sadotthitaḥ ||
Vyāsa explains the expiation for the grave sin of brahmahatyā (killing a brāhmaṇa): the offender should live by begging, eat only once a day, and perform all necessary tasks by himself. He should carry a skull-bowl in his hand and a staff (khaṭvāṅga), remain steadfast in celibacy, and stay constantly active and disciplined. Living simply—sleeping on the ground and openly acknowledging his wrongdoing before society—he undertakes this austere regimen for twelve years; by such sustained penance, the slayer of a brāhmaṇa becomes freed from the sin.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the gravest moral transgression is addressed within dharma through prāyaścitta: sustained austerity, humility (living on alms), self-discipline (celibacy, vigilance), and public accountability are presented as a path to purification and moral restoration.
Vyāsa is prescribing a formal expiatory regimen for a brahmahatyā offender: the person adopts an ascetic mode of life—begging, eating once daily, carrying ascetic emblems like the skull-bowl and staff, maintaining brahmacarya—and continues this for a long period (twelve years) to become free from the sin.