Shloka 60
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
अल्पे वाप्यथ शोचेत पृथक् संवत्सरं चरेत् । त्रीणि श्रोत्रियभार्यायां परदारे च द्वे स्मृते
alpe vāpy atha śocet pṛthak saṃvatsaraṃ caret | trīṇi śrotriyabhāryāyāṃ paradāre ca dve smṛte ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Même pour une faute légère, il faut éprouver du repentir, puis vivre séparé en expiation pendant une année entière. S’il s’agit d’avoir approché l’épouse d’un brāhmane savant (śrotriya), trois (années d’une telle pénitence) sont prescrites ; et s’il s’agit de l’épouse d’un autre homme, la tradition en retient deux (années).»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches graded expiation (prāyaścitta) proportional to the gravity of sexual misconduct: remorse is required even for minor faults, and stricter penance is prescribed for violating protected relationships—especially involving a Veda-learned Brāhmaṇa’s wife and, more generally, another man’s wife.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he cites traditional Smṛti-based norms about remorse and periods of living apart as penance, specifying different durations depending on the offense.