Shloka 7

Prāyaścitta for Mahāpātakas — Brahmahatyā, Association with the Fallen, and Tīrtha-Based Purification

Devanagari script

मीमांसाज्ञानतत्त्वज्ञा वेदान्तकुशला द्विजाः / एकविंशतिसंख्याताः प्रयाश्चित्तं वदन्ति वै

Transliteration

mīmāṃsājñānatattvajñā vedāntakuśalā dvijāḥ / ekaviṃśatisaṃkhyātāḥ prayāścittaṃ vadanti vai

Translation

Les sages brāhmanes—versés en Mīmāṃsā, connaisseurs des principes de la connaissance sacrée et experts en Vedānta—au nombre de vingt et un, exposèrent en vérité l’enseignement du prāyaścitta (expiation).

Word by Word

• मीमांसा-ज्ञान-तत्त्व-ज्ञाः: knowers of Mīmāṃsā, knowledge, and true principles
• मीमांसा-ज्ञान-तत्त्व-ज्ञाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मीमांसा (प्रातिपदिक) + ज्ञान (प्रातिपदिक) + तत्त्व (प्रातिपदिक) + ज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण—knowers of Mīmāṃsā, knowledge, and principles

• वेदान्त-कुशलाः: skilled in Vedānta
• वेदान्त-कुशलाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेदान्त (प्रातिपदिक) + कुशल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण—skilled in Vedānta

• द्विजाः: twice-born (Brahmins)
• द्विजाः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• एक-विंशति-संख्याताः: numbering twenty-one
• एक-विंशति-संख्याताः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + विंशति (प्रातिपदिक) + संख्यात (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समास—‘numbered as twenty-one’

• प्रायश्चित्तम्: expiation
• प्रायश्चित्तम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रायश्चित्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• वदन्ति: say/declare
• वदन्ति: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha/Avyaya (सम्बन्ध/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), emphatic/indeed

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) reporting the sages’ exposition within the Kurma Purana discourse framework

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Dvija
• Mīmāṃsā
• Vedānta
• Prāyaścitta

More Details (3 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

Indirectly: by pairing Mīmāṃsā (ritual-duty analysis) with Vedānta (Self-knowledge), it implies that dharmic purification (prāyaścitta) and inner realization belong to a single Vedic continuum leading toward clarity of the Self.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific yogic technique is named; the verse foregrounds purification as a prerequisite discipline—prāyaścitta as a dharmic means of cleansing conduct and mind, which supports higher contemplative practice emphasized elsewhere in the Kurma Purana (including Pāśupata-oriented ideals).

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

Not explicitly; however, the Kurma Purana’s synthetic approach is reflected in presenting both ritual orthopraxy (often linked with Vedic duty) and Vedāntic wisdom (often used in sect-transcending theology), a framework compatible with Shaiva–Vaishnava unity themes found across the text.