Shloka 59
Śāpaprāpti (Receiving a Curse) — Mohinī Narrative
हत्यायुतं भर्तृवधो निरर्थकमेतत्समं विप्रवरैः पुराकृतम् । न चापि चास्या भवतीह शुद्धिः समिद्भवह्नौ पतनेऽपि देवाः ॥ ५९ ॥
hatyāyutaṃ bhartṛvadho nirarthakametatsamaṃ vipravaraiḥ purākṛtam | na cāpi cāsyā bhavatīha śuddhiḥ samidbhavahnau patane'pi devāḥ || 59 ||
The slaying of one’s husband is equal to ten thousand murders—an utterly ruinous karma. This was declared long ago by the foremost Brāhmaṇas. For such a woman there is no purification even here; not even if she were to fall into the sacrificial fire kindled with holy fuel would the devas accept it as expiation.
Sage Narada (narrative voice within Uttara-Bhaga)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: raudra
FAQs
It emphasizes the extreme gravity of bhartṛ-vadha (husband-slaying) as a mahāpātaka-like act, warning that ordinary ritual expiations are not spiritually efficacious for certain crimes and that dharma has hard boundaries.
Indirectly, it shows that bhakti is not a license to ignore dharma: devotion in the Purāṇic worldview is grounded in moral conduct, and severe adharma obstructs inner purity required for genuine devotion.
It points to Kalpa (Dharmaśāstra/ritual procedure) by discussing prayāścitta—how ritual acts like entering a consecrated fire may be considered expiation in some cases, yet are deemed invalid for certain grave transgressions.