Shloka 37
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
न हि मे पितरं हत्वा निष्कृतिर्विद्यते क्वचित् | नरकं प्रतिपत्स्यामि ध्रुवं गुरुवधार्दित:
na hi me pitaraṃ hatvā niṣkṛtir vidyate kvacit | narakaṃ pratipatsyāmi dhruvaṃ guruvadhārditaḥ ||
«Para mí, después de haber matado a mi padre, no existe expiación en parte alguna. Afligido por el pecado de matar al propio guru—al propio padre—caeré sin duda en el infierno.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grave ethical weight of killing one’s father—treated as guru-vadha—and the fear that such an act may be beyond ordinary expiation, leading to inevitable karmic downfall (naraka).
Vaishampayana reports a speaker’s anguished confession: having killed his father, he sees no available atonement and anticipates certain descent into hell due to the sin of slaying a revered elder (guru).