Shloka 38
Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)
अश्वमेधो महायज्ञ: प्रायश्षित्तमुदाह्मतम् । तमाहर महाराज विपाप्मैवं भविष्यसि
aśvamedho mahāyajñaḥ prāyaścittam udāhṛtam | tam āhara mahārāja vipāpmā evaṁ bhaviṣyasi ||
इसके लिए महान् यज्ञ अश्वमेध को ही प्रायश्चित्त कहा गया है। अतः महाराज, आप उसका अनुष्ठान कीजिए; ऐसा करने से आप पापरहित हो जाएँगे।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Serious moral and ritual impurity can require formal prāyaścitta; here Vyāsa presents the Aśvamedha as a royal expiation that restores the king to purity and dharmic standing.
In Śānti Parva’s post-war setting, Vyāsa addresses a king burdened by sin or remorse and instructs him to perform the Aśvamedha sacrifice as the prescribed means of purification.