Shloka 44
कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī
इष्टवा यथावद् बलभिदरुणायामुपास्पृशत् | स मुक्तः पाप्मना तेन ब्रह्म॒वध्याकृतेन च
iṣṭvā yathāvad balabhid-aruṇāyām upāspṛśat | sa muktaḥ pāpmanā tena brahmavadhyākṛtena ca
Après avoir accompli comme il se doit le rite prescrit, il toucha ensuite l’eau à Balabhid-Aruṇā en geste de purification. Par cette observance, il fut délivré de la souillure du péché—en particulier de la lourde faute encourue par le meurtre d’un brāhmaṇa—et recouvra ainsi la pureté rituelle et morale après un acte de transgression.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in the aftermath of grave wrongdoing, dharma provides structured means—properly performed rites and purification—to acknowledge transgression and seek release from its moral and ritual taint, emphasizing accountability and restoration rather than denial.
The narrator states that the person in question completes a rite correctly and then performs a purificatory water-touching at the sacred place called Aruṇā; through this observance he becomes freed from the sin, explicitly including the heavy guilt of brāhmaṇa-slaying.