Shloka 6
संधेयासंधेय-पुरुषनिर्णयः (Criteria for Allies and Non-Allies) — with the opening of the Gautama narrative
सुरापो5सम्मतादायी भ्रूणहा गुरुतल्पग: । तपसैव सुतप्तेन नर: पापात् प्रमुच्यते
bhīṣma uvāca | surāpo 'sammatādāyī bhrūṇahā gurutalpagaḥ | tapasaiva sutaptena naraḥ pāpāt pramucyate ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: Incluso el bebedor de embriagantes, quien toma la propiedad ajena sin consentimiento, el que mata al no nacido y quien mancilla el lecho del maestro—tal persona puede liberarse del pecado sólo mediante un tapas verdaderamente cumplido, intenso y riguroso.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the gravest moral transgressions are said to be removable through genuinely intense tapas (austerity/penance). The emphasis is on inner discipline and sustained self-purification as the effective means of expiation.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and moral repair, Bhishma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira about prāyaścitta: he lists severe sins and states that a person becomes freed from their taint through well-performed austerity.