The Account of Kāṣṭhīlā (Kāṣṭhīlā-ākhyāna) within the Mohinī Narrative
स्वर्णन्यासापहरणे मेदिनीहरणे च या । आत्मनो हनने या हि विहिता मुनिभिर्द्विज ॥ १२५ ॥
svarṇanyāsāpaharaṇe medinīharaṇe ca yā | ātmano hanane yā hi vihitā munibhirdvija || 125 ||
हे द्विज! अमानत रखे स्वर्ण की चोरी, भूमि-हरण, और आत्म-हत्या—इनके लिए मुनियों ने जो प्रायश्चित्त ठहराया है, वही यहाँ लागू है।
Suta (narrating the Purana’s discourse; legal-dharmic instruction attributed to the sages)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
It equates the moral gravity of betraying trust (stealing deposited gold), dispossessing others of land, and self-destruction, stressing that these acts severely violate dharma and therefore demand the highest level of purification (prāyaścitta).
Indirectly: by insisting on ethical purity and accountability, it frames prāyaścitta as a prerequisite for steady devotion—one restores inner clarity and fitness for worship by correcting grave breaches of dharma.
This is primarily Dharmaśāstra-style prāyaścitta instruction (aligned with Kalpa: ritual and legal procedure), focusing on how specific transgressions are matched with specific expiations.