Shloka 6
अत्रेः तपोबलप्रकाशः तथा च्यवनस्य सोमाधिकारः
Atri’s Illumination by Tapas; Cyavana and Soma-Entitlement
काउ्चनं प्रतिगृह्मयाथ जपमानो गुरुश्रुतिम् । कृष्णायसं च विवृतं धारयन् मुच्यते द्विज:
kāñcanaṃ pratigṛhṇīyāt japamāno guruśrutīm | kṛṣṇāyasaṃ ca vivṛtaṃ dhārayan mucyate dvijaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Un brāhmane est délivré de cette faute lorsque, tout en récitant la vénérable Gāyatrī reçue du maître, il accepte l’or (selon la règle) et porte au grand jour un bâton de fer noir.»
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a moral/ritual fault can be removed through prescribed expiation combining (1) disciplined sacred recitation learned from the guru (understood as Gāyatrī-japa), (2) regulated acceptance of a specified gift (gold), and (3) an outward, publicly visible sign of restraint (bearing a black-iron staff), emphasizing accountability and purification within dharma.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including rules of conduct and expiations. Here he states a specific remedial practice by which a brāhmaṇa is said to be freed from a particular दोष (fault) through japa and bearing a black-iron staff openly, along with accepting gold as part of the prescribed rite.